Publication

This paper examines the ways in which Russia is trying to use the global financial crisis as leverage to strengthen its regional leadership and improve its geostrategic position. The authors find that Russia has been pursuing a two-pronged policy to enhance its influence among former Soviet republics: It is buying up assets from, and giving out loans to, its distressed neighbours on a massive scale. However, the authors conclude that Russia's efforts to become a geopolitical leader of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are likely to be frustrated by Russia’s lack of a coherent long-term strategy and by its socio-political system’s dearth of appeal.