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| A Different View on the European Anniversary |
Fyodor Lukyanov
Europe recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the anti-Communist revolution that put an end to the division of the world into two ideological blocs. The events of 1989 opened a new chapter in global politics; however, even two decades later, the full content of this chapter remains unclear. |
| Approaching the Far Away |
Alexander Chepurin
The presence of an influential and consolidated Russian community abroad meets Russia’s national interests. A community interwoven and integrated in the public and political life of the country where it lives – rather than an assimilated or marginalized one – could make up a full-fledged part of the global Russian world. |
| No Lull in Sight |
Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief
There has been no traditional summertime lull in Russian politics this year. The breath of the crisis is felt everywhere. In Russia, it forces the government to take preventive measures – many analysts predict a hot autumn prone with social problems. But in the international arena, new opportunities are opening up, which Moscow does not want to miss. |
| Is “Constructive Nationalism” Possible? |
Leokadia Drobizheva
The interest in the phenomenon of nationalism has again increased in the world. Experts and politicians are trying to define various types of nationalism and to understand the difference between ethnic nationalism and civic nationalism, and what potential the latter type of nationalism has. Obviously, ethnic nationalism is not gone. |
| Transition to Uncertainty |
Fyodor Lukianov, Editor-in-Chief
The global crisis is being discussed so much that there seems to be no aspect left that has not been analyzed in depth. |
| A Nation-State or a State-Nation? |
Alexei Miller
Nobody knows what may happen if the Ukrainian policy continues developing along the nation-state course. For the more than eight million people who consider themselves to be Russians, the important thing is not the change to Ukrainian identity, but the loss of living comfortably in case they maintain their Russian identity. |
| Two Crises on the Way to Reshaping the World |
Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief
Two crises have occurred one after the other in the past few months that have had a significant impact on Russian foreign policy. The Russian-Georgian war in August and the upheavals on global financial markets in September and October are not related. Yet both events, each in its own way, have contributed to the formulation by Russia of its national interests. One can say that the two crises have set a conceptual framework of interests, defining a vector for the indispensable and boundaries for the possible. |
| Incomplete Centralization |
Olga Tynyanova
The federal authorities have done much in recent years to strengthen the unity and territorial stability of the Russian Federation. However, the institutional and legislative guarantees for the country’s territorial integrity are quite unreliable. If an unforeseen political weakening of the federal center occurs, there is a high likelihood that the country’s federative structure will be shattered. |
| The Russian People and National Identity |
Valery Tishkov
In fact, while such a reality was never admitted or acknowledged by the leadership, the Soviet people actually constituted a civic nation, with the Soviet Union being a kind of nation state. The Soviet Union was in many ways no different than other large and ethnically heterogeneous states. |
| In Anticipation of Change |
Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief
There is an anticipation of change in the world today, although no one can say exactly how things will change. This anticipation stems from the handover of power – already accomplished in Russia and which will soon take place in the United States; from new internal turbulence in the European Union; from the marked growth of China’s presence on the global stage; and from ever new signs of a crisis in various international institutions. |
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