Russia’s Asia Policy under Vladimir Putin, 2000–5

T hough Asia traditionally was, for Russia, a “secondary” geopolitical direction by and large, its importance has been steadily rising since the 1990s. By the mid-2000s, this rise has acquired a new quality: Russia increasingly acts as a Euro-Pacific nation. 1 This has been the result of several factors. Top among them are the opening of Russia in the wake of the fall of communism and the dismantlement of the Soviet Union, and the rise of China. Russia’s biggest problem at the beginning of the twenty-first century is the lack of a functioning model for regional development in East Siberia and the Far East, the sparsely populated but resource-rich part of the country. Unless Russia develops such a model, it is likely to see its eastern provinces become a raw materials appendage of Chinas growing economy. If, at the same time, Russia’s western regions continue to perform a similar function for the European Union, the prospect of the country, which once was co-terminus with Eurasia, turning itself into something that can be described as “Euro-China,” a weak land torn apart by the rival forces of attraction, might become a reality. Thus, averting such a scenario is Russia’s premier national interest. Moreover, the dynamism of China and India, especially in contrast to Europe’s sluggishness, makes them, as well as Japan and Korea, highly attractive for Russian business executives. 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.