Russia and the Arab Spring

Author(s): Mark Katz
Editor(s): Stephen Aris, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder, Aglaya Snetkov
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 98
Pages: 4-6
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute of History, University of Basel
Publication Year: 2011

The Russian government - like its counterparts in the West, the Middle East, and elsewhere - was caught off guard by the outburst of Arab uprisings beginning in January 2011 which swept away long-ruling authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and have threatened to topple those in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and Syria. The response of the Russian government to these events has - like that of Western governments - often been confused and inconsistent. Just as Western governments have done, Moscow has sought to protect its interests in the region. But while Russian and Western interests have been similar (or perhaps more accurately: while Moscow has aligned itself with the Western approach) in some cases, Russian and Western policies have differed sharply in others.

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