Statism in Russia: The Implications for US–Russian Relations

Abstract

This essay seeks to identify and assess the general shift in Russian foreign policy thinking during Vladimir Putin's presidency. The main thesis of this essay is that a general shift in Russian foreign policy had occurred during Putin's presidency owing to the rise in Statist thinking. To substantiate the thesis, the author uses the State of the Nation addresses of Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin to make a comparative analysis of the presidents’ foreign policy approaches. As demonstrated in the essay, the Russian foreign policy had experienced a dramatic influx of state power during Vladimir Putin's presidency, which resulted in the relative quantitative and qualitative reduction of cooperative initiatives between the United States and Russia.