Attempts by Washington and Brussels to push Russia to the fringes of global politics because of the Ukrainian crisis seem to have failed. Thanks to its important role in mediating the Iranian nuclear agreement, and to its unexpected military intervention in Syria, Moscow proved once again to be a key player in international politics. However, Russia's recovered assertiveness may represents a challenge to the uncertain leadership of the West. This report aims to gauging Russia's current role in the light of recent developments on the international stage. The overall Russian foreign policy strategy is examined by taking into account its most important issues: Ukraine and the relationship with the West; the Middle East (intervention in Syria, and ongoing relations with Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia); the development of the Eurasian Economic Union; the Russian pivot towards Asia, and China in particular. The volume also analyzes if and to what extent Moscow can fulfill its ambitions in a context of falling oil prices and international sanctions.

Putin's Russia: Really Back?

While the "decline of the West" is now almost taken for granted, China's impressive economic performance and the political influence of an assertive Russia in the international arena are combining to make Eurasia a key hub of political and economic power. That, certainly, is the story which Beijing and Moscow have been telling for years. Are the times ripe for a "Eurasian world order"? What exactly does the supposed Sino-Russian challenge to the liberal world entail? Are the two countries' worsening clashes with the West drawing them closer together? This ISPI Report tackles every aspect of the apparently solidifying alliance between Moscow and Beijing, but also points out its growing asymmetries. It also recommends some policies that could help the EU to deal with this "Eurasian shift", a long-term and multi-faceted power readjustment that may lead to the end of the world as we have known it.

Russia and China. Anatomy of a Partnership

Dalla viva voce di una diplomatica russa, un'eccezionale testimonianza che illustra la posizione di Mosca sul conflitto siriano e i retroscena legati alla liberazione di Aleppo. IL LIBRO: Ad Aleppo, dall'estate 2016 fino alla liberazione dall'ISIS, parallelamente alla cruentissima guerra sul campo, si è combattuta una dura battaglia diplomatica, di cui l'autrice è stata testimone. Il testo analizza e descrive, anche nei retroscena, i complessi tentativi svolti dai principali attori del conflitto (Russia, USA, Turchia, Iran, Qatar, Arabia Saudita) per risolvere "la questione Aleppo", il ruolo giocato dall'Onu e dalle Ong nell'intera vicenda e i reali motivi che per tanto tempo hanno causato il fallimento delle trattative tra Russia e Stati Uniti. Marija Chodynskaja-Golenisceva. Diplomatica e scrittrice russa, ha conseguito il Dottorato in Storia contemporanea. Attualmente è membro della Missione permanente della Federazione Russa presso l'Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite a Ginevra. Aldo Ferrari insegna Studi Caucasici presso l'Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia. È responsabile del Dipartimento Federazione Russa, Caucaso e Asia Centrale presso l'Istituto di Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI).

Aleppo. Guerra e diplomazia

Be it for the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the intervention in Syria or the alleged interference in the US presidential election, Russia has been increasingly under the spotlight over the last years. In 2018, the world's eyes will be upon two events: the presidential elections taking place on March 18, and the World Cup, which will kick off in June. While the outcomes of the latter are still uncertain, President Vladimir Putin's victory looks like a safe bet. Even so, these elections bear important consequences for both Russia's domestic and foreign policy, since they will affect Putin's ability to both cement his power at home and pursue his objectives abroad. What are the main domestic and international challenges facing Russia? Will Putin continue to question the Western-championed liberal order or seek reconciliation with the West? The authors of this Report address these key issues, offering in-depth analyses of Russia's political system, economy and society, as well as tracing their evolution and pointing at future scenarios for the EU-Russia relations.

RUSSIA 2018 - PREDICTABLE ELECTIONS, UNCERTAIN FUTURE

La Russia è stata sempre un mondo a sé, fiera della sua "alterità" di cultura e di storia rispetto all'Occidente, con il quale ha rifiutato qualsiasi tentativo di omologazione, come pure la condivisione di un destino comune. Il suo connotato nell'era degli zar è stato caratterizzato dall'assolutismo monarchico, dalla fusione totale del potere dello Stato con l'ortodossia religiosa e dalla missione di Grande Madre universale del mondo slavo. I rapporti con l'Ovest sono sempre stati improntati a reciproca diffidenza, anche nei momenti delle alleanze e delle iniziative comuni. È una grande potenza e una grande civiltà, demonizzata e divinizzata nell'opinione occidentale a seconda dei problemi interni e delle aspirazioni della nostra società nei suoi diversi momenti storici.

La Russia degli zar

Who decides what in Moscow? The answer is not always "Vladimir Putin". However, when explaining Russia's foreign policy, the consolidation of Putin's autocratic tendencies and his apparent stability despite many economic and political challenges have contributed - at least in the West - to an excessive "Putin-centrism" and the relative neglect of other agents of domestic politics. As a result, many facets of the country's foreign policy decisions are misunderstood or shrouded under a thin veil of vagueness and secrecy. This Report attempts to fill this gap, exploring the evolving distribution of political and economic power under the surface of Putin's leadership to assess the influence of different "lobbies" on Russia's foreign policy. All of the contributions in the volume underline the complexity of Russia's decision-making process beneath the surface of a monolithic and increasingly personalistic government.

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