Balkan Geostrategic Vector of the Russian Federation

Abstract

Russia’s policy concerning the Balkan countries is discussed in this article. It is substantiated that the countries of Southeastern Europe have long been one of the key places in Russian geostrategy. Since the 1990s Russia has been trying to take an active part in resolving the Balkan crisis, in particular in the preparation of the road map for resolving the ethnic conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, seriously confronting the bombing of Belgrade by the NATO coalition in 1999, during the Kosovo War, was impossible for Russia due to its intra-political crisis and the weakness of its geopolitical status. Today, Russia is betting not on “soft power”, but primarily on the destabilization of the regional security system and the transitory (transitional) world order in general. The Balkan region itself is one of those that seeks to undermine the stability of individual countries that could potentially become part of the Euro-Atlantic structures. In case of an aggravation of the situation, Russia will traditionally support its allies – first of all, Serbia and its ethnic population, who live compactly in the post-Yugoslav area. In general, countries such as Serbia, Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro risk turning into a new field of geopolitical confrontation in Europe between Russia and the United States.