La Russie et la sécurité européenne

Abstract

Russia and European Security, by Vladimir Baranovsky As viewed from Moscow, the security landscape in Europe bas fundamentally cbanged during the last three years. But security considerations per se have only been of secondary importance in the evolution of Russia's foreign policy from its initial post-imperial romanticism towards a clear-cut assertiveness in protecting Russian « national interests ». Rather, this evolution has been determined both by domestic factors and by Moscow's feverish search for restored self-confidence in the international arena. Consolidating the post-Soviet geopolitical space as the zone of Russia's « vital interests » and ensuring a recognized « great power » status to Russia are by far the most important elements in Moscow's thinking about the European architecture. Ironicalty, both elements undermine its efforts to establish a pan-European model with Russia's full-fledged participation. These efforts are also increasingly undermined by Moscow's poor record in economie reforms, uncertainties with respect to democratie developments within the country and uncivilized methods of dealing with internal conflicts (as was dramatically demonstrated in Chechnya). Internationally, after a spectacular failure in preventing the « westernization » of its former Warsaw Pact allies, Moscow faces a painful dilemma in choosing between confrontational and cooperative patterns in its relations with the rest of Europe.