It has been apparent since 2014, if not before, that Russia’s current leadership views the world in terms that are very different to those familiar to us in the Euro-Atlantic more than twenty-five years after the end of the Soviet Union. Seen from the Kremlin, the post-Cold War international system is illegitimate and unfair, and has been forced on the world by the West. This view was articulated most clearly in Vladimir Putin’s speech at the Munich Security Conference in 2007, and has only been reinforced by events since then.
Russia’s rejection of the post-Cold War international system is based in large part on a belief that the West, led by the United States, denies Moscow its rightful place in global affairs. Russia’s leaders believe that their country is a ‘great power’, or one of the most important countries globally. Proceeding from this self-perception, they believe that Russia has more rights than other countries, including the right to a ‘buffer zone’ along its borders and the right to have a say over global events. While these views are held by Russia’s current leadership, they are not specific to them. Instead, these views have been consistently held -- to a greater or lesser extent -- by Russia’s rulers over centuries.
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in 2014, including the annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine, was a shock to many in the Euro-Atlantic region; so too has Russia’s subversion and destabilisation of Euro-Atlantic countries and institutions in the years since dismayed many. However, when considered in the context of Russia’s worldview its actions should be no surprise. This paper offers an overview of the key components of Russian strategic culture as it relates to Russia’s worldview, and assesses their policy implications for the UK and its allies…….
Dr Andrew Foxall is Senior Research Fellow in Russian Strategy at the Changing Character of War (CCW) Centre at the University of Oxford. Between 2013 and 2020, he was Director of the Russia and Eurasia Studies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society. Before that, he held academic positions at Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Oxford. He holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford.
