Kryachkov 2!indd

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Д. А. Крячков
UNIT VIII
E. Foreign Policy
a. Speak about the diplomatic decision-making process in Russia. Who/What is the ultimate 
decision making authority? What role is reserved for the parliament? 
b. Discuss in what ways Russia’s foreign policy is or is not:
aggressive
arrogant
assertive 
balanced
belligerent
conservative 
imperial
neutral
mercantilist
pro-active
reactive
anti-Western
c. 
In your view, how is the foreign policy pursued by the Russian Federation today different 
from that of the post-Soviet 1990s? What was pro-Western enthusiasm replaced by? What 
can these differences be attributed to? 
d. Analyze the goals and priorities of Russia’s foreign policy as set forth in the Foreign Policy 
Concept of the Russian Federation
e. The first Russian president Boris Yeltsin once said that Russia is predestined to be a 
superpower. Many Western experts are convinced that today’s Russia is nursing impe-
rial ambitions and dreaming of restoring its superpower status. How accurate do you 
think this assessment is? What are the key attributes of a superpower: a vast territory, 
the rate of economic growth, its nuclear arsenal, ability to project power beyond its 
immediate periphery, its role in international organizations and weight in internation-
al affairs, etc.?
f. 
Is Russia strong enough to pursue an independent foreign policy or does it have to take 
heed of other countries’ recommendations and criticism? 
g. Speak about Russia’s relations with the country/region you specialize in.
F. 
Russia’s international image
a. What is Russia’s image in the international arena? Read the following excerpts from the 
BBC World Service poll conducted in 27 countries in late 2009 — early 2010. Find a fresher 
poll of the kind to compare.
“Last year‘s poll found that views of both Russia and China had deteriorated. Looking at 
the views of the countries polled in both 2009 and 2010, they appear to have stabilized 
somewhat this year. Views of Russia in particular are more muted, with a decline both 
in the proportion of those rating it positively (from 31 to 29%) and those rating it 
negatively (42 to 37%). 
Though views on Russia‘s influence are still predominantly negative worldwide, these 
have softened in the past year, after having worsened between 2008 and 2009. In the 
27-country average for the current survey, 37 per cent hold negative views and 30 per 
cent hold positive views. Seventeen countries give Russia‘s influence a negative rating, 
seven give it a positive rating, and three are divided.”
b. Below are the parameters of a country’s international image. Which of them do you 
think might have affected the way Russia is perceived in the world? Which can be used 
to raise the country’s profile? Speak about Russia’s attempts to burnish its international 
reputation.

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