Russian Foreign Policy Themes in Official Documents and Speeches: Tracing Continuity and Change

Russia has issued an unusually large number of official documents on various aspects of its foreign policy since the country became an independent state in 1991. Andrey Kozyrev, the first foreign minister, was reluctant to compose a document defining Russian foreign policy, arguing that as that policy would be based on the country’s national interest, the underlying principles would be self-evident. Those in favour of a formal document claimed that working out Russia’s foreign policy would assist in defining the country’s identity. Kozyrev relented, and the first Foreign Policy Concept was adopted in 1993, followed soon after by a Military Doctrine. 1 Both were replaced by new versions in 2000, and the Foreign Policy Concept was updated again in 2008. Russia’s most recent foreign policy statement, Concept of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, was approved by President Vladimir Putin in 2013. The latest Russian Military Doctrine was adopted in December 2014. Since 1997 Russia has also had a series of national security concepts. A second version was adopted in 2000 and a third in 2009, this last being called the Strategy of National Security of the Russian Federation until the year 2020. Russia also has an Information Security Doctrine, a Concept of Participation in International Development Assistance and, most recently, a Concept of Participation in BRICS. 2 These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.