The Russian leadership has laid down its foreign policy guidelines. They primarily target Russians living abroad.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new foreign policy doctrine based on the concept of the “Russian world”. Russia should “protect, preserve and promote the traditions and ideals of the Russian world,” according to the 31-page document published on Monday.
“The Russian Federation supports its compatriots living abroad in enforcing their rights in order to ensure the protection of their interests and the preservation of their Russian cultural identity.”
Russia regards ex-Soviet states as a sphere of influence
The concept of the “Russian world” has been used by conservatives to justify action abroad in support of Russian-speaking groups. Putin has repeatedly referred to the approximately 25 million Russians who found themselves in the independent states that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The government in Moscow regards the former Soviet states from the Baltic States to Central Asia as part of a sphere of influence. Many of these countries, as well as the West, reject this.