Russia vs. EU/US through Georgia and Ukraine

Abstract

Abstract: This paper analyzes the construction and transformation of Georgia and Ukraine's post-Soviet security strategy in the context of post-Soviet Russian foreign policy in the abroad, or what is often termed the legitimate of Russian influence. After the Rose of Georgia and the Orange of Ukraine the independent/pro-Western orientation of these two countries became the main issue securitized by the Russian Federation. Therefore, maintaining territorial integrity became the top security priority for Georgia (since the early 1990s) and most likely will become the main issue for Ukraine after the Russian Federation's occupation of Crimea (March 2014) and the subsequent developments in Eastern Ukraine. The changes in the internal politics of these countries were transposed into the international competition between Russia and the EU/US, expressed through the clash of sovereign and Color Revolution paradigms for the future of post-Soviet states. In essence, these are the maintenance tools of Russian influence on the one hand, and on the other hand an exercise in Western power values across the Former Soviet Union (FSU), supported with the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and the Eastern Partnership (EP) projects. The military actions of Russia in Georgia (2008) and Ukraine (2014) were a response to the soft power applied by the West and aimed at creating buffer zones in the shape of frozen conflicts. These could be used as indirect leverage in the hands of the Russian Federation to block Western aspirations in Georgia and Ukraine.IntroductionThis paper aims to analyze the construction and transformation of the post-Soviet security perspectives of Georgia and Ukraine in the context of the post-Soviet Russian foreign policy in the abroad, quite often termed the legitimate of Russian influence by high-ranking Russian officials. This inquiry covers the panorama of the foreign policy in post-Soviet Russia across the FSU, from the early 1990s through to the present, where Georgia and Ukraine's independent and pro-Western orientation are the main issues securitized for the Russian Federation. Accordingly, the maintenance of territorial integrity has become a security priority for Georgia since the early 1990s and will most likely be Ukraine's top concern after the Crimean occupation by the Russian Federation in March 2014 and the subsequent developments in Eastern Ukraine. Therefore, it could be claimed that post-Soviet Russian and Georgian/Ukraiman security strategy (following peaceful revolutions) represent a zero-sum game.The article will explore the main topics of Russian foreign policy since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On the one hand based on orthodox geopolitics, as a legitimizing narrative for its sphere of influence across the FSU area, and on the other, the narrative of victimization of Russia and Russians by the West after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. I will show Russia is fighting against its status as a second rate country, and the evident clash of Western liberal democracy and Russian orthodoxy in the Russian Federation's foreign policy drive. The Rose and Orange revolutions of Georgia and Ukraine are considered to be major security problems by the Russian Federation, which in turn gives Georgia and Ukraine reason to leave the Russian geo-political axis.The paper will reflect on Russia's reactions to emerging changes in the near abroad since the early 1990s through the peaceful revolutions until the crises of 2008 and 2014. The second part of the study will contextualize the main transformation strategies of Russian foreign policy towards the near abroad in the process of Georgia's and Ukraine's aspirations towards EU and NATO membership. In this respect the paper will point to the main tools Russia used to successfully block this process. And last, but not least, the paper will place Russian-Georgian and Russian-Ukraiman conflicts within the wider prism of the post-Soviet contradiction between Russia and the West. …