Russia’s Near Abroad and the Geopolitics of Empire

Abstract

The South Caucasus and Central Asia remained on the periphery of both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The Soviet collapse left a vacuum in the South Caucasus and Central Asia that other powers sought to fill. Today, Moscow seeks to maintain the South Caucasus and Central Asia as a buffer zone against what it views as threats to its own security, ranging from drug trafficking to radical Islamists to NATO. Putin’s Russia uses a range of tools to project influence in the region, including manipulation of conflicts on its neighbors’ territory, control of infrastructure and media outlets, as well as, occasionally, military force. It also promotes schemes for regional integration like the Eurasian Economic Union to limit or slow the South Caucasus and Central Asian states’ drift out of Russia’s sphere of influence.