Conservative ideologues have utilized the concept of a “Russian World” to justify action abroad in defense of Russian-speakers. President Vladimir Putin has authorized a new foreign policy doctrine based on this concept.
The 31-page “humanitarian policy” was published more than six months into the war in Ukraine and states that Russia should “protect, safeguard, and promote the traditions and ideals of the Russian World.”
While promoted as a soft power strategy, it enshrines in official policy views about Russian politics and religion that hardliners have used to justify international action, such as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The policy said, “The Russian Federation gives assistance to its countrymen residing abroad in order to ensure the protection of their interests and the preservation of their cultural identity.”
On Monday, President Vladimir Putin authorized a new foreign policy doctrine based on the notion of a ‘Russian World,’ which conservative ideologues have used to justify action abroad in defense of Russian-speakers.
It was stated that Russia’s ties with its compatriots abroad helped it to “strengthen on the international scene its image as a democratic nation working to create a multi-polar world.”
Putin has spent years emphasising what he views as the unfortunate destiny of some 25 million ethnic Russians who found themselves living outside Russia in newly independent republics when the Soviet Union fell in 1991, a ‘geopolitical tragedy’ in his view.
Russia has continued to view the former Soviet region, from the Baltics to Central Asia, as its legitimate sphere of influence, despite vehement opposition from a number of these nations and the West.
Russia used the ideals of the Russian World to justify its invasion of Ukraine. Before invading, Putin erroneously claimed that the Russian-speaking residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine were the victims of a ‘genocide’
While promoted as a soft power strategy, it enshrines in official policy views about Russian politics and religion that hardliners have used to justify international action, such as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Tuesday depicts firefighters repairing a building destroyed by a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv.
Russia used the ideals of the Russian World to justify its invasion of Ukraine. Before invading, Putin erroneously claimed that Russian-speakers in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine were victims of a “genocide” at the hands of Kiev. Pictured: On September 3, a Ukrainian soldier passes past a demolished building outside Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Putin also defended the 2014 annexation of Crimea by citing the concept of a “Russian World” and claiming that Russians living in Crimea lived in a “split nation.”
In recent months, Russian officials have employed the same terminology when describing Transnistria, an unrecognized strip of land backed by Moscow and bordering southwestern Ukraine.
Rustam Minnekayev, chairman of the Kremlin, stated in April that Russia desired control of southern Ukraine, which would provide access to Transnistria, “where there have been instances of mistreatment of the Russian-speaking people.”
Moldovans and Ukrainians are concerned that Russian soldiers may launch ‘false flag’ assaults to justify an invasion of Transnistria.
According to Putin’s new foreign policy, Russia should boost its collaboration with Slavic states, China, and India, as well as its links with the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa.
It stated that Moscow should strengthen its ties with Abkhazia and Ossetia, two Georgian regions that Moscow has recognized as independent since its 2008 war with Georgia, as well as the two breakaway entities in eastern Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic.