Construction and Deconstruction of the Borders of (Re)Integration Projects in Eurasia: The Western and Eastern “Edges” of Russia
Construction and Deconstruction of the Borders of (Re)Integration Projects in Eurasia: The Western and Eastern “Edges” of Russia

Summary/Abstract: Along with its political and economic recovery (after almost two decades of depression, resulting from the disintegration of the Soviet Union), the Russian Federation has conceptualized and implemented several initiatives aiming at (re)establishing its active, even dominant, position on the Eurasian continent. However, the ongoing changes in the structure of the global order have resulted in those attempts taking place in a new international environment. The Cold War-era territorial, political, and military domination of Russia over the Eurasian space was replaced by a polycentric system. On the one hand, it was marked by the expansion of the European project in the west, attracting and absorbing numerous states (including those located in the direct neighborhood of Russia). On the other hand, China became first a regional and then a global power, thereby gaining the ability to influence the eastern and even central parts of Eurasia. As Bobo Lo claimed, in a changing international environment, the victims are those states who “are either unwilling or unable to adapt” to the new circumstances.

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