Анджела Стент - Putin's World - Russia Against the West and with the Rest

This book represents the culmination of decades of thinking, writing, and teaching about Russian foreign policy and participating directly in the policy process—and traveling to Russia and its neighborhood frequently. When I began working in this field, the USSR was a superpower under geriatric leadership and soon destined to begin its decline. Mikhail Gorbachev ushered in an era of liberalization, reform—and hope. But the USSR was ultimately unreformable and collapsed because of its own internal weakness, leaving the new Russia to redefine its diminished role in the world. The Yeltsin decade was again one of reform and hope—but also one of disorder and poverty. When Vladimir Putin, the young, relatively unknown ex-KGB officer, entered the Kremlin in 2000, he promised to bring order to the country by restoring a strong state and reasserting Russia’s role as a great power. This book is about how Putin has restored Russia on the global stage, the role Russia plays today, and what it means for the United States, Europe, China, the Middle East, and other countries—and for the future. At the same time, history also shapes Russia’s relations, whether “against the West” or “with the rest,” and I try to place this story in that larger context.

My work on Russian foreign policy has been informed both by my research as an academic and by two stints in the US government. I worked in the State Department’s Office of Policy Planning just as Vladimir Putin was beginning to consolidate power. My second stint came as National Intelligence Officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council when Putin was already asserting his ambitions for Russia as a great power. I thank my government colleagues for their insights into Russian foreign policy over the years and for our continuing dialogues.

Georgetown University has been my academic home for many years, providing a collegial and rigorous atmosphere for research and teaching. I would like to thank the leadership of Georgetown University—its president, John J. DeGioia, and Joel Hellman, dean of the School of Foreign Service, for providing a supportive environment for policy-relevant academic research. I thank my colleague Dr. Michael David-Fox for taking over the directorship of the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies while I was on sabbatical writing this book. I am grateful to the excellent and collegial staff of the Center for their commitment to our M.A. program and for organizing events and discussions around the theme of my book—Benjamin Loring, Sarah Radomsky, and Allie Vreeman. Special thanks to my Georgetown colleague Andrew Kuchins with whom I frequently discuss these issues. I also thank my colleague and Department Chair Charles King for his support of my work. And I am grateful to the many Georgetown students for our bracing discussions in and out of the classroom—many of whom, I take pride in noting, are now involved professionally with Russia in both public service and in the private sector.

I am grateful to those individuals and organizations who supported the research for this book. The German Marshall Fund’s Transatlantic Academy and its director Steven Szabo provided a congenial and stimulating environment for me during my sabbatical when the six fellows there worked on a project on Russia and the West. Our debates were intense and sometimes contentious as we argued over Russia’s intentions and the West’s response. I would also like to thank Deana Arsenian and the Carnegie Corporation of New York for their support for the work of CERES, its faculty and students, and for their continued commitment to the importance of Russian-American relations and their support for that work.

I am grateful to the Brookings Institution and its former president Strobe Talbott, a distinguished “Russia Hand,” for providing me with the opportunity to be a non-resident Senior Fellow and co-chair its monthly and informative Hewett Forum on Russian and Eurasian affairs, which brings together leading members of both the policy and academic communities. My thanks to Steven Pifer and Alina Poliakova for being my co-chairs.

I thank my colleagues with whom I have discussed these issues over the years: Horton Beebe-Center, John Beyrle, James Collins, Toby Gati, Fiona Hill, Jeffrey Mankoff, Eugene Rumer, Daniel Russell, and Steven Weisman.

Special thanks go to those who read all or part of this manuscript and gave me excellent comments: Thane Gustafson, Bobo Lo, Robert Nurick, Strobe Talbott, Nina Tumarkin, Daniel Yergin, and Rebecca Yergin.

I am grateful to Paula Ganga, Rianna Jansen, and Anna Bar for their excellent work as research assistants. Thanks also to Matt Sagers, head of the Russian and Caspian Energy Service at IHSMarkit, and to the staff at IHSMarkit in Moscow, led by Irina Zamarina, for their assistance on my frequent research trips to Moscow. The biannual RAND US-Russia Business Forum and its chair William Courtney also provided an instructive venue for discussing relations with Russia in Moscow, New York, and Washington.

Special appreciation goes to Sean Desmond, my outstanding editor at Twelve, for his encouragement and advice. He is indeed a gifted editor who has made this a better book. The idea for the book emerged after a dinner with Deborah Futter, formerly of Twelve books. I owe her a debt of gratitude for conspiring with my excellent agent Suzanne Gluck to sign me up to do the book. Thanks also to Rachel Kambury at Twelve and to Ruth Mandel for ingeniously finding the photographs.

I have benefited from conversations with senior officials from the United States, Russia, Europe, Asia, and Central Asia. I thank them all for their insights into the making of Putin’s World .

I also want to acknowledge the enduring influence of my mentor and thesis adviser Adam Ulam, whose pioneering work on Soviet foreign policy inspired me to go into this field and whose judicious skepticism always provided a reality check.

My understanding of the views of the Russian leadership—and of Vladimir Putin himself—has been enhanced by my participation in the Valdai International Discussion Club, whose annual meetings I have attended for the past fifteen years. They have provided a unique opportunity to listen to the perspectives of Russian colleagues, policymakers, and opinion leaders—as those messages have changed over time. In these conferences, we have met with Putin for several hours each year, both in plenary sessions and in smaller, private settings, discussing Russian domestic and foreign policy.

Special thanks go to my family, which has encouraged me during the writing of the book. My children—Rebecca and Alexander, and Alex’s wife, Jessica—always give me fresh insights and good-humoredly challenge my assumptions. My greatest debt goes to my husband, Daniel Yergin, my most enthusiastic supporter—and toughest critic. He read several drafts of the manuscript and brought his acute insights and formidable editing skills to improve the manuscript and encourage me to aim for the best. His love and support, and that of my children, have sustained me throughout the years.

1. WikiCommons

2. The State Hermitage, Museum, St. Petersburg; Photograph © The State Hermitage Museum/photo by Vladimir Terebenin

3. Courtesy of the author

4. Russian Archives/ZUMA Wire

5. www.kremlin.ru

6. Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters Pictures

7. Dmitry Astakhov/AFP/Getty Images

8. Mikhael Klimentyev/Sputnik via AP

9. Christian Hartmann/Reuters Pictures

10. REX/Shutterstock

11. Photo by Mao Jianjun/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

12. Ukrainian two-hryvna image: © Andriy Nekrasov/123RF; Russian thousand-ruble image: Центробанк РФ/Wikimedia.org

13. Dmitry Serebryakov/AFP/Getty Images