Foreign relations of Russia

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The foreign relations of the Russian Federation is the policy arm of the government of Russia which guides its interactions with other nations, their citizens, and foreign organizations. This article covers the foreign policy of the Russian Federation since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991. At present, Russia has no diplomatic relations with Ukraine due to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Other than Ukraine, Russia also has no diplomatic relations with Georgia, Bhutan, Federated States of Micronesia or Solomon Islands.

The Kremlin's foreign policy debates show a conflict between three rival schools: Atlanticists, seeking a closer relationship with the United States and the Western World in general; Imperialists, seeking a recovery of the semi-hegemonic status lost during the previous decade; and Neo-Slavophiles, promoting the isolation of Russia within its own cultural sphere. While Atlanticism was the dominant ideology during the first years of the new Russian Federation, under Andrei Kozyrev, it came under attack for its failure to defend Russian pre-eminence in the former USSR. The promotion of Yevgeny Primakov to Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1996 marked the beginning of a more nationalistic approach to foreign policy.^{[1]: 33–69}

Another major trend has been Eurasianism, a school of thought that emerged during the early 20th century. Eurasianists assert that Russia is composed of Slavic, Turkic and Asiatic cultures and equates Liberalism with Eurocentric imperialism. One of the earliest ideologues of Eurasianism was the Russian historian Nikolai Trubetzkoy, who denounced the Europhilic Czar Peter I and advocated Russian embracal of the Asiatic "legacy of Chinggis Khan" to establish a trans-continental Eurasian state. Following the collapse of Soviet Union, Eurasianism gained public ascendency through the writings of philosopher Aleksandr Dugin and has become the official ideological policy under the government of Vladimir Putin.^[a]

Vladimir Putin's presidency lasted from January 2000 to May 2008, and again from May 2012 to the present. Under Putin, Russia has engaged in several notable conflicts, including against the neighboring countries of Ukraine and Georgia. He recognized the independence of new republics within those countries.^[6][7] Relations with the United States in particular have sharply deteriorated between 2001 and 2022, while relations with the European Union deteriorated especially since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. In a poll conducted by Levada Center in 2021, 64% of Russian citizens identify Russia as a non-European country; while only 29% regard Russia to be part of Europe.^[8]

On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, prompting the imposition of substantial economic and political sanctions by the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and other countries. The Russian government now has a specified "Unfriendly Countries List" which indicates those countries with which relations are now strained (or non-existent). Despite deteriorating relations with most of the international community since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia still maintains support and strong relations with certain countries, such as China,^[9] Belarus,^[9] Iran,^[9] Cuba,^[9] Venezuela,^[9] Nicaragua,^[9] Syria,^[9] North Korea,^[9] Myanmar,^[9] Eritrea,^[9] Mali,^[9] Zimbabwe,^[10] Central African Republic,^[10] Burkina Faso,^[11] Burundi,^[12] and Niger.^[13] Russia also has strong support from the Supreme Political Council of Yemen. ^[14]

Russia also maintains positive relations with countries that have been described as "Russia-leaning" according to The Economist. These countries include Algeria, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,^[15] Afghanistan,^[16] Laos, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Uganda.^[17] Russia also maintains positive relations with countries considered neutral on the world stage such as Brazil,^[18] Honduras, India, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. With countries traditionally considered Western aligned, Russia maintains positive relations with Hungary,^[19] Serbia,^[20] Azerbaijan, Turkey,^[19] Bahrain,^[21] Kuwait,^[21] Qatar,^[19] Egypt,^[22] Saudi Arabia,^[23] Oman,^[21] and the United Arab Emirates.^[23]

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