Russia in the Northern and in the Southern Caucasus
“Near Abroad” and “Interior Abroad”
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Russia has a special relationship with the Caucasus. It is historically, culturally, and emotionally charged due to the Tsarist Empire’s expansion to the south. To this day, the Russian Federation extends into the region as a whole with seven constituent republics. In terms of foreign and security policy, socio-economics, but also religion, Russia has such close ties to the Southern Caucasus that Moscow has to consider the repercussions of its policies vis-à-vis Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, as well as the breakaway regions such as Abkhazia or South Ossetia, on its own periphery in the Northern Caucasus. The entire Caucasian area is marked by the tension between Russian claims to power and its actual power to act formatively.
(Osteuropa 7-10/2015, pp. 383–406)