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MEHRIBAN ARIF QIZI ALIYEVATHE VERSED LADY OF AZERBAIJAN

PUTIN-MONGERING

SONS OF ORTHODOXY: EU AUSTERITY AND A RUSSIAN-GREEK ORTHODOX ALLIANCE

PRIMAKOV: THE MAN WHO CREATED MULTIPOLARITY

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DiMiTRis GiAnnAkOPOulOsDR. MATThEw CROssTOn

PETRA POsEGATEJA PAlkO

luísA MOnTEiROninA lAvREnTEvA

GAbRiElA PAsChOlATi DO AMARAlRAkEsh kRishnAn siMhA

bRiAn huGhEsTAylOR MORsE

JEAnETTE JJ hARPERDiAnnE A. vAlDEz

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First lady was never one to bathe in the re-flected glory of her husband, Ilham Aliyev.She has earned a degree from the 1stMoscow State Medical Institute and has atfirst pursued her career at the Eye DiseaseScientific Research Institute in Moscow forsome years. In 1995 came the turning point,when she recognized her calling that tookher away from practicing medicine and intothe fields of charity and politics. “Friends ofAzerbaijani Culture” Charitable Foundationwas established by her initiative and thatset her strongly on the humanitariancourse. She is running the foundation tothis day.After the death of Heydar Aliyev, her father-in-law, Aliyeva also established the HeydarAliyev Foundation, which, at least accord-ing to Azerbaijan news article, »builds moreschools than Azerbaijan's Ministry of Edu-cation, more hospitals than the Ministry ofHealth, and conducts more cultural eventsthan the Ministry of Culture”.

In addition to the charitablework, holding events and thecontinuous promotion of Hey-dar Aliyev`s political ideology,Foundation does work outsidestate boundaries, too. Mosthigh profile are, among manyothers, financing renovations atthe Louvre Museum, palace ofVersailles and StrasbourgCathedral.

But that is only the tip of theiceberg of her impressive career.She has also founded the “Azer-baijan Heritage” magazine,which presides over promotingthe Azerbaijan culture and ispublished in three languages,Azerbaijani, English and Russ-ian. She was awarded high hon-our for her continuous efforts inAzerbaijan culture promotion,especially in the fields of folk lit-erature and music, when shewas given the title UNESCO`sGoodwill Ambassador in 2004.

We Are All FAMiliAr WiTh The SAying, behind every suc-cessful man there is a woman. When it comes to Mehriban Arif qiziAliyeva, first lady of Azerbaijan, we could paraphrase that into: Be-side every successful man, there is an equally successful woman.

The verSeD laDy Of azerbaiJan

MD STAFF

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Mehriban arif qizi aliyeva

Additionally, she was the recipient of count-less other international honours and prizesfor her charitable work, including the IS-ESCO`s (Islamic Educational, Scientific andCultural education) title of Goodwill Ambas-sador, award from the World Health Organi-zation for exceptional services, internationalaward “Golden Heart” for extensive charityactivities, the “Golden Mozart” award fromUNESCO, the “Star of the CommonwealthAward” for activities in the humanitarian areaand “Olympic Excellence” Special honoraryPrize for the promotion of Olympic values. Atthis year`s first ever European Games, held inBaku, Aliyeva commenced with a welcomespeech at the grand opening of the Games.

She was also awarded the Grand Comman-der’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the PolishRepublic Sept. 14, 2009, which she receivedfor her contribution to development offriendly ties between Azerbaijan and Poland;the ''Ruby Cross'' order of ''Philanthropists ofthe Century'' from International CharityFoundation of Russia; Order of Legion of Ho-nour by French President's order; the awardfor “Service to Turkic world” established bythe Turkic World musician and writers Union;conferred on the order "Hilal-e Pakistan" ofthe Islamic Republic of Pakistan; conferredon a high state award of the Serbian Republic– the Sreten Order – for her special servicesbefore Serbia in public, cultural and human-itarian fieldand an honorary prize of the Turk-ish-German Friendship Federation for thecontributions made to dialogue betweencivilizations, as well as for the services to pro-motion of the Turkic world in Germany anddevelopment of Azerbaijan-Germany rela-tions.

She iS even COnSiDereDaS a highly likely

SUCCeSSOr Of her hUSbanDaS The PreSiDenT

Of azerbaiJan, if a ThirDCOnSeCUTive TerMWOUlD PrOve TO be

TOO COnTrOverSialfOr ilhaM aliyev

She has also begun her career in politics in2005, when she was elected to the NationalAssembly with 94 % vote under the flag ofNew Azerbaijan Party and has been a deputychairperson since 2013. According to somewestern media, she is even considered as ahighly likely successor of her husband as thepresident of Azerbaijan, if a third consecutiveterm would prove to be too controversial forIlham Aliyev.Despite shade, thrown at her in the light ofleaked diplomatic cables, revealing thatmany of her western counterparts feel likeshe is not properly informed or educated onpolitical issues and does not even attend theparliament sessions, she has become a role-model for women in her own country andbeyond over the years.

In Muslim societies, the way a public femalefigure presents herself, her level of success,the way she dresses, wears her hair or putson make- up is always about somethingmore than just general appearance. Aliyeva`simpeccable fashion sense, her impressivepublic career as a highly educated humani-tarian with a PhD in Philosophy, a charityworker, a Goodwill Ambassador and now apolitician, many in the western media spec-ulate could be the next president of Azerbai-jan, could therefore as well become the firstMuslim female President in the future. Due to her successful career and a strongpublic persona, it is of little wonder that shehas been sometimes referred to as the HillaryClinton of Azerbaijan.

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Rather than being enlightening about thiscomplex country and perhaps even morecomplex leader, a series of increasingly in-credulous ‘pop-psychology-analyses’emerge instead. What follows are just fiveof the most commonly touted, with subse-quent breakdowns for those who wish toread more accurate alternative considera-tions:

1.putin fantasizes about returning to the‘glorious soviet’ past. ukraine is just thefirst step.Putin has made many comments andstarted many symbolic initiatives over thelast decade that in some ways have re-claimed the accomplishments and historyof the Soviet Union. What most in the Westmiss about this is the internal perception inRussia that the dissolution of the SovietUnion in 1991 was not just a historical andpolitical transition to a new stage or newevolution for the state as a whole.

Since the dissolution took placewithin the context of the ColdWar and the ideological ‘war’that was capitalism versus com-munism, with communism los-ing, most of the world felt thedissolution was also an ERAS-ING of history. As in, nothing that took placefrom 1918 to 1991 was worthremembering, commemorat-ing, or observing. Many of theleaders in the initial Yeltsin yearsat least partially supported this,if not directly then by simpleomission. In short, the ways inwhich Putin has ‘reclaimed’ thepartially erased Soviet history ishis denial of the Western de-mand that losing the Cold Warmeans nearly 75 years of historyno longer counts for Russia, un-less it is to emphasize negativeevents and incidents done bythe Soviet Union. That conceptis rejected by Putin, which heconsiders a sort of emotionalTreaty of Versailles put uponRussia unfairly by the West. Butthere is nothing about Ukrainethat connects to this reclama-tion of history.

If you spenD soMe tIMe lIstenIng to reputable news showsall across the West you will start to notice several recurring ‘inter-pretations’ that explain all things Russian and Vladimir Putin.

PUTIN-MONgERINg

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Matthew Crosston isProfessor of PoliticalScience, Director of

the InternationalSecurity and Intelli-

gence StudiesProgram, and the

Miller Chair atBellevue University

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The concept is actually rather absurd: if theRussian Federation truly wanted to ‘reinsti-tute’ the Soviet Union in full there are fewcompetent strategic plans that get there byfirst taking over Eastern Ukraine and causingthat country to disintegrate into chaos.

2.putin is obsessed with getting attentionfrom the united states. this is just his wayof acting out.I like to call this the ‘infantilist theory’ of Russ-ian politics here in the United States. It is lit-tered with the breathless condemnations ofso-called experts who have spent little timeactually in Russia, have questionable lan-guage skills when it comes to Russian, andmost certainly have never spent significanttime with Putin or anyone within his closecircle. Despite these rather daunting limita-tions, these experts do not hesitate to appearon numerous radio and television talk showsand write countless newspaper and maga-zine op-ed pieces, giving a detailed and inti-mate psychological profile of the Russianleader that basically amounts to characteriz-ing the Russian president as a petulant childwho is hopelessly needy and demands thatthe United States recognize him as an ‘un-equal equal partner.’

What most in this camp fail to see is that theposition of Russia in Ukraine has been largelybased on a strategic plan that IGNORES therelevance or power of the United States. Ifthe so-called ‘Ukraine initiative’ was aboutRussia getting attention from the UnitedStates, then Russia seems to be doing an out-standing job of misdirection, feigning totalambivalence on statements, sanctions, andinitiatives coming out of Washington DC.

3.putin demands the rest of the world ac-cords russia ‘superpower’ status. ukraineis his reminder to the rest of the world.This leans a bit on the logic of the first rumor,in that, how exactly does any initiative inUkraine signal superpower-status to anyoneanywhere? By now even the most hardenedRussian critics in the West have admitted thatUkraine basically squandered two decadesof political, economic, and geostrategicpromise with complete mismanagementand dysfunctional governance. To admit thaton the one hand and then try to connectRussian initiatives within Ukraine as a so-called grand plan springboard to beingtaken more seriously by the global commu-nity is inane and lacking in strategic commonsense. This is even more ridiculous when onesimply looks to other areas of Russian hardpower that have monumentally increasedunder Putin since 2000, whether that be inmilitary restructuring, federal budgetarystrengthening, or natural resource develop-ment.If Putin was going to lean on some-thing to make the world understand Russiashould remain or once again be considereda superpower in the 21st century, it is thoseareas of real domestic strength that wouldpower the argument. Getting involved withUkraine after the Maidan revolution has ab-solutely zero chance of accomplishing thatgoal. Putin clearly acknowledges this, so it isa mystery why the West won’t as well.

PUTIN fEELSAbSOLUTELY CERTAIN

THAT HIS ACTIONS IN UkRAINEARE A PERfECT MIRROR

TO HOW THE UNITED STATESHAS CONDUCTED ITS bUSINESS

IN OTHER AREAS, LIkE IRAq,AfgHANISTAN, AND LIbYA,

JUST TO NAME A fEW

4.putin is violating international law by in-terfering with ukrainian affairs.

One of the most successful movie franchisesin history, The Pirates of the Caribbean, is ac-tually a fantastic teaching tool for this accu-sation. In the very first film, when Elizabethwas taken aboard the Black Pearl to face thedreaded Captain Barbosa, she was dismayedto learn he was not going to follow the so-called holy Pirate’s Code. To which, rather be-musedly, Captain Barbosa explained that thePirate’s Code was not so much a code as a setof guidelines. And guidelines are to be fol-lowed pretty much as one sees fit…or seesnot to, as the case may be. This is an ab-solutely spot-on description of how interna-tional law measures up against actualstrategic foreign policy and global affairs:

states would like to follow international law,may even prefer to follow it, and for the mostpart do follow it. UNTIL, that is, internationallaw comes in direct opposition to national in-terest and foreign policy priorities. At whichtime international law can pretty much betold to go hang. Now, the part of this that al-ways gives the United States consternation(or is it political indigestion?), is when Russiais adamant that the chief model for this semi-respectful, semi-dismissive attitude towardinternational law is none other than the US.If you want to stop a dinner party dead in itstracks in Washington, casually mention howPutin feels absolutely certain that his actionsin Ukraine are a perfect mirror to how theUnited States has conducted its business inother areas, like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya,just to name a few.

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Only Putin believes his ‘interference’ inUkraine is FAR more justified and explainablethan American ‘interference’ in those afore-mentioned countries. In short, internationallaw is a grab-bag of mysterious and contra-dictory interpretations based on power andpriority. Russia simply admits it more readily,and more publicly, than the United States.

5.putin has put hundreds, if not thou-sands, of intelligence agents into easternukraine and they are causing all of the un-rest.This last one is disheartening simply becauseit is an avoidance of political and military re-ality on the ground in Ukraine and as a resultcould be influential in the continuing vio-lence and bloodshed. There is no doubt thatRussia has an intelligence presence inside ofUkraine. Russia has always had one. So hasthe United States. The US also has an intelli-gence presence inside of Russia, some of itwith permission, some of it without. But totake this basic principle of intelligence realityall around the world (for example, China hasintelligence agents in Taiwan, Japan hasagents in China, India has them in Pakistan,and Pakistan in India, and the United Statesbasically has agents everywhere) and distortit so that it is the chief culprit of events spi-raling out of control in Eastern Ukraine is ir-responsible. Dissembling of this sort removes most of thefocus from the Ukrainian authorities who arestruggling to regain control across their ter-ritory, sometimes wisely, sometimes fool-ishly, sometimes peacefully, and sometimesviolently.

It also eliminates the existence of actual pro-Russian factions within Ukraine that nolonger wish to be part of it. The West is dom-inated by stories of pro-Russian groups en-gaging in violence in Ukraine and within aday those pro-Russian factions are magically‘littered with Russian agents and/or provoca-teurs,’ ie, there is no legitimate anti-Ukrainianauthority movement, there is only Russian in-telligence forces manipulating events on theground to the detriment of Ukrainian territo-rial integrity. This is overstatement at best,political fabrication at worst, as the West hasmade it clear it does not want to see any dis-integration of Ukraine. What’s not being saidis how that position is not so much based onthe desire for peace and tranquility as it isbased on the fact that any dissolution ofUkraine will undoubtedly end up benefitingRussia. And that has been silently acknowl-edged as the least optimal outcome to theWest.

Russia is not perfect. Russia is not blameless.No country is. But when reputable newssources and so-called experts with decadesof experience examining Russia all seem tocater to the same storyboard, and that story-board seems a bit far-fetched if not actuallyfantastical, then it is time to signal the call fora new generation of leaders and experts whoare willing to examine not just from old prej-udices but from cold-hearted objective for-eign policy reality. In that crucible no one isabsolved but no one is also unfairly pre-judged. Right now the future of Russian-American relations depends on theemergence of these new voices.

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With strong indications that the public willresoundingly reject another bailout and thecrippling austerity that comes with it,Greece will finally be free of the hated ‘insti-tutions’ that, as they repeatedly claimed,paralyzed their economy. However, thepath that leads to a once again stable andprosperous economy is likely not to befound quickly. When the vote finally arrives,Greece will most likely revert to thedrachma and default, wherein the econ-omy will enter yet another depression. Asof now, the EU appears to be washing itshands of Greece. Fascinatingly, Russia maybe the only country that has the immensemeans and political savvy to navigate thisbreak-up to the benefit of Greece and to itsown global positioning interests and na-tional security priorities beyond theCaspian.This was never a two-sided fight. Greeceand the EU stared down at each other whileforgetting that Russia was patiently waitingon the periphery. The EU adamantly statedthat austerity would eventually work, whileGreece equally weighed in against the ‘in-decency’ that such economic measureswere forcing on the Greek people.

So much focus has been onrhetoric and horribly complexpolitical posturing inside of the28-country EU, it quietly missedthe fact that Russia couldemerge the only real winner,leaving the EU to struggle withthe consequences of basicallybeing rejected by a fallen EUmember that chose an alterna-tive path.Russia and Western Europeanpowers are in the midst of a tu-multuous relationship at themoment diplomatically and it’sdifficult to argue that Russiaisn’t coming away with theupper hand. Vladimir Putin hasshrugged off sanctions, reces-sion, and drastic inflation, allwhile increasing personal pop-ularity and national territory. Helikewise out-flanked the more-hawkish Western voices in Syriaby utilizing Russian soft power,coordinating a chemicalweapons disarmament.With ameager 18% debt-to-GDP ratio,Russia has the financial depthand flexibility to do as theyplease. Lending a helping handto Greece would be a simplefirst step to begin prying Greeceaway from the EU and into awelcoming Russian sphere ofinfluence.

THe BiTTer figHT that has been raging between the EuropeanUnion and Greece has now extended for five long months. Withthe referendum on July 6th it may all be mercifully put to an end.

sOns Of OrthOdOxy

Brian HugHes

Brian Hughes iscurrently a studentin the InternationalSecurity and Intelli-

gence Studiesprogram at Bellevue

University in Omaha,NE, USA.

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EU AUstErity And A rUssiAn-GrEEk OrthOdOx AlliAncE

Greece has recently been torn between Rus-sia, an ‘Orthodox brother nation,’ and it’s EUcounterparts. The economy was explodingwith prosperity before the global recessionof 2007-2008 and this newfound wealth waslargely facilitated by its close relationship tothe EU and inclusion in the Euro currency.Conversely, Greece has historical, cultural,and religious connection with Russia. In ad-dition, tourism and diaspora between thetwo countries is quite high. Thus, with sixyears of economic downturn and multiplerecessions following the initial depression,Greek positive sentiment toward the EU hasplummeted to roughly 25%. Meanwhile,two-thirds of Greeks have a favorable view ofRussia, a unique antithesis with much of theEU.Russia’s relationship with the current Greekpolitical hierarchy began on strong footing,as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attempted toblock sanctions against Russia just days intooffice. After sanctions were imposed with theUnited States’ urging, Greece reportedly toldRussia that they were able to reduce their in-tensity.

This may be the strongest leverage thatGreece can offer Russia: while still being amember of the EU, even without its currency,Greece can use its vote to sway sanctions.While a difficult task for Greece to diametri-cally oppose the wishes of stronger Westernpowers, one dissenting vote to new sanc-tions significantly weakens impending ones.Previously, the EU warned of isolationism ifGreece bowed to Russia with respect to sanc-tions and warned not to challenge the EUposition. In the wake of default this threatwill prove hollow, while isolation from the EUmay drive Greece further to the side of Rus-sia. The Greek government would be walkinga dangerous tightrope between Russia andthe EU, but with little options for an immedi-ately stable economic future they may gam-ble.In addition to challenging sanctions, Greecehas also fought against the position held bythe EU in regard to Russian natural gas. EUmembers are attempting to move away fromreliance on Russian gas and the Gazpromempire. In April, Greece signed on for inclu-sion in the Turkish Stream gas line project (al-though that project has yet to begin). Manyanticipated that this was a ploy to bluff Eu-rope into accepting easier loan terms, butdeciphering what was political brinksman-ship and genuine agreements may prove dif-ficult: Russia is going to accept the contracteither way.The EU is stuck between offering Greece thedemanded debt write down and furtherbailouts or gambling with the standard lineof austerity and possible ‘moral hazard.’ Thiswas certainly a fight the creditors neverwanted to face, with the political implica-tions singularly negative and no positive out-comes readily imaginable.

thE EU is GivinGEvEry OPPOrtUnity

tO rUssiA tO AdvAncEin thE EcOnOMic vAcUUM

thAt Will bE lEft bEhindAs dEfAUlt sWEEPs

thrOUGh thE MArkEtsOf GrEEcE

The EU outcome that would have subduedRussian influence would have been to keepthe status quo. When it became clear that theSyriza party had no interest in doing so, theEU could only keep pressing Greece until itbroke. Unfortunately, the break may certainlyoccur, but may consequently create a new al-liance the EU never anticipated: an Orthodoxalliance that renders EU influence in the Adri-atic severely compromised.Greece has until July 20th to decide whetherto accept bailout funds or simply fall out ofthe Euro. The latter move will show the restof the EU that membership is not a strictlyone-way road and any prospective membersmay be hesitant in accepting membership.Highlighting the weakness of European part-nerships and rigidity of monetary controlwould represent a large prize to Russia, al-ways interested in embarrassing Westernpowers when it has opportunity to do so,given what it considers to be like behaviorfrom the US and EU.Make no mistake: the EU is giving every op-portunity to Russia to advance in the eco-nomic vacuum that will be left behind asdefault sweeps through the markets ofGreece. For six months it has let the confi-dence in the Euro, and the EU itself, beshaken through vicious back-and-forth polit-ical rhetoric. While the concessions thatGreece demanded were far more than the EUfelt allowable, Greeks understandably balkedat even more austerity. With Russia activelyparticipating in Greece’s alternative plans,the EU needs to be legitimately concernedabout watching Russia slowly embraceGreece away from Western Europe and moretowards its Orthodox brother and the moreEast-leaning shift it is trying to create in theCaspian and beyond to China.

If Greece rebounds as a result of Russian in-fluence, it will give pause to other newer andpotential EU members facing similarly severeausterity measures. The EU can still salvagethis situation, but it will take drastic compro-mise since Greek voters appear resolved toaccept a Euro exit. With severe austerity thequestion simply becomes, “how can a stateeffectively govern when it has little decisionsover its budget?” Greece seems to be sayingit cannot and therefore is seeking alternativeanswers to this European economic stick. Itproclaims to want economic dignity back.And Russia just might be the country holdingthe dignity carrot.

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Primakov’s decision was in sync with whathe had set out to achieve. In 1996, as For-eign Minister he had presented before theKremlin elites a plan to develop a strategicthree-way pivot between Russia, India andChina. This doctrine of multipolarity wouldbe an alternative to the US-imposed unipo-larity of the post Cold War period.Back then the Kremlin was crawling withpro-western Muscovites. Rotten to the core,many were in the pay of motley Americanthink tanks (read: spy agencies). It was nota time or place to sell an idea as radical asuniting three disparate countries in a strate-gic embrace.But like most great ideas, Primakov’s wassimple. First, Russia must end its sub-servient foreign policy guided by the US.Secondly, he emphasised the necessity ofrenewing old ties with India and fosteringthe newly discovered friendship with China.Primakov argued that a Russia-India-China(RIC) troika in a multipolar world wouldallow some protection for free minded na-tions not allied to the West. He said the eco-nomic crisis in Russia had presented a rareconvergence of conditions in the RIC.

Leonid Fituni, Director of theMoscow-based Centre forStrategic and Global Studies, ex-plains: “China is practically theonly state in the contemporaryworld that enjoys over 3000years of uninterrupted state-hood. It has its own rich tradi-tions of state governance, notidentical to those existing in the(West) today, but by no meansinferior. Through millennia,China has accumulated unpar-alleled experience of social andpolitical organisation and de-velopment.”

Fituni adds: “India, being differ-ent in many respects, enjoys asimilar wealth of historical ex-perience, often incomprehensi-ble to westerners. The lastcouple of centuries have been atime of degradation and humil-iation for these two great na-tions. In the eyes of the Chineseand the Indians, this was inextri-cably linked to the European/western expansion: colonialismand imperial dominance, in-cluding the imposition of a nor-mative and economic servitudethat still keeps then trapped inthe semi-periphery even afterthe era colonialism.”

On maRch 24, 1999, Yevgeni Maximovich Primakov was head-ing to the United States for an official visit. Midway over the At-lantic Ocean, the Russian Prime Minister learned the combinedforces of NATO had started bombing Serbia, a close ally. Primakovimmediately ordered the plane to turn around, and returned toMoscow in a manoeuvre dubbed “Primakov’s Loop”.

THE MAN WHO CREATEDMULTIPOLARITY

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New Zealand-basedjournalist and foreign

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Russia found itself in a similar state. It was atime when the former planned economieswere "ruthlessly looted by the victoriousdemocracies under the guise of economicreforms or liberalisation. Russian socialthinkers and historians noted similarities tothe historic period of the destruction and pil-lage of China and India in the 19th and early20th centuries”, writes Prof Li Xing writes inThe BRICS and Beyond.Primakov – a former journalist, Orientalistand spymaster – predicted an inevitabledegradation of the Russian economy, reduc-tion to "third world" country status, and thecontinued drain of resources (natural, finan-cial, technological and human) to the victo-rious West in its attempt to postpone theimminent crisis in the (western core) enfee-bled by decades of Cold War competition.(This has an uncanny parallel to the drain ofIndia’s resources – black money and hightech talent – to the West.)

slow startIn 1998, Primakov visited India and pushedthe proposal for creating the RIC strategic tri-angle. The new Russian leadership underVladimir Putin reversed the Boris Yeltsin eradrift in Russia-India ties, signed a majorstrategic partnership treaty and establishedthe institution of annual summit meetings.

Fourteen years after Russia had abandonedits old ally, Indians heard friendly voices em-anating from Moscow. “India is number one,”Putin said, referring to India’s primacy in thesubcontinent.To be sure, the troika took a long time toreach a basic agreement. A key reason for RICnot getting early traction is the India-Chinaborder dispute, which has spun off an Asianversion of the arms race between the two gi-ants.Secondly, in any trilateral partnership, theweakest member – in this case India – ac-quires prestige and power out of proportionto its actual strength. Beijing – which has tra-ditionally viewed India as weak, divided, slav-ishly pro-West and above all as a potentialstrategic rival – clearly did not want to helpIndia achieve that status.

Initially, RIC leaders only met on the sidelinesof global summits. “Once the format was un-derway in 2003, broadening it to includeBrazil did not present insurmountable chal-lenges,” write Nikolas K. Gvosdev and Christo-pher Marsh in ‘Russian Foreign Policy:Interests, Vectors, and Sectors.’(Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill's term– rapidly adopted by financial and emerging-market analysts around the world – hap-pened to be released at that exactopportune time. O'Neill or not, BRICS wouldhave been a reality, minus that clunky name.)It wasn’t until 2012 – coinciding with Indiasuccessfully testing long-range ballistic mis-siles capable of reaching China’s easternseaboard – that RIC talks took off. Finally, theFebruary 2015 meeting in Beijing imparteda fresh momentum, with China endorsingRussia’s move to include India in the Shang-hai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

RUSSIA LEfT THE PATHOUR WESTERN PARTNERS

HAD TRIED TO MAkE IT fOLLOWAfTER THE bREAkUP

Of THE SOvIET UNIONAND EMbARkED

ON A TRACk Of ITS OWN

Wider footprintLarge as its scope is, Primakov went beyondRIC. “The Primakov doctrine is designed pri-marily to dilute America’s strength and influ-ence while increasing Russia’s influence andposition in the Middle East and Eurasia,”writes policy analyst Ariel Cohen of the US-based Heritage Foundation in a report titled‘The Primakov Doctrine: Russia’s Zero-SumGame with the US’.“Primakov has shown himself to be a masterat exploiting anti-American sentiments ofthe Iranian Shiite establishment, the Arab na-tionalists, and even the French foreign policyelite.

On visits to Japan and Latin American, Pri-makov promised Russia's support for their ef-forts to secure permanent seats on UNSecurity Council.”But Primakov was not letting Americanhawks go unchallenged. In a 2006 speech hethundered: “The collapse of the US policiespursued in Iraq delivered a fatal blow on theAmerican doctrine of unilateralism.”“Having captured more and more countriesthe North Atlantic Treaty Organisation hasapproached our borders, and this cannot failto make us uneasy,” Primakov added

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“All the more so NATO extension is accompa-nied by anti-Russian rhetoric, as well as ag-gressive policies pursued by the US in theformer Soviet republics. Moscow cannot failto regard all this as activities bred by the dis-pleasure of certain circles in the West by thefact that restoring its enormous prospectivepotential, Russia is regaining its status of asuperpower.”

new era in Russian diplomacyAnother key contribution was Primakovended the age of Russia’s post-Soviet inno-cence. Taking advantage of Moscow’s concil-iatory – and overly trusting nature – theAmericans had hoodwinked Moscow in sev-eral theatres, including Iraq, Libya, NATO ex-pansion and the ABM Treaty. “We are toohonest in these matters and such naivety inthe political arena does not lead to good re-sults,” he said in an interview. “I hope that ourpolicy changes.”

In a sideswipe at Samuel Huntington’s Clashof Civilisations, he said Russia would not ac-cept the division of the world based on civil-isation-related and religious principles, butwould instead pursue its own policies, “cool-ing hotheads who fail to learn their lessonsin Iraq but are all but ready to repeat perni-cious combat techniques against unwantedregimes”. In fact, his defining credo was:“Those who do good will be rewarded. Lifegets even with those who do bad.”

Primakov’s legacy was best summed up bycurrent Russian Foreign Minister SergeiLavrov: “The moment he took over, the Russ-ian Foreign Ministry heralded a dramatic turnof Russia’s foreign policy. Russia left the pathour western partners had tried to make it fol-low after the breakup of the Soviet Unionand embarked on a track of its own.”Pointing to the success of BRICS, whichemerged from the RIC, Lavrov said the line ofcountries eager to join the five-membergroup “keeps getting longer”.

One day when they chronicle the “Declineand Fall of America”, substantial credit wouldgo to the man who came in from the ColdWar – and changed the map of the NewWorld Order.

fIRST, RUSSIA MUST END ITS SUbSERvIENTfOREIgN POLICY gUIDED bY THE US. SECONDLY, HE EMPHASISED THE NECESSITY Of RENEWINg OLD TIES WITH INDIA AND fOSTERINg THE NEWLY DISCOvERED fRIENDSHIP WITH CHINA

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