Executive Summary
This chapter explores Russia's security strategy and its problematic relations with the West, shaped by a historical sense of vulnerability and a persistent need for strategic depth through buffer zones. It traces Russia's geopolitical challenges from Kievan Rus to the present, focusing on its interactions with Ukraine and the West's role in shaping its foreign policy. The analysis highlights Russia's consistent efforts to secure its borders and spheres of influence, often through military means.
Why It Matters
This document is crucial for defense and geopolitical analysts as it provides a comprehensive historical and geopolitical framework for understanding Russia's security strategy and its ongoing conflict with Ukraine, rooted in a deep-seated sense of vulnerability and the pursuit of strategic depth.
Key Takeaways
- Russia's strategic culture is profoundly influenced by a historical sense of vulnerability and a persistent drive to maintain strategic depth through buffer zones and spheres of influence.
Source evidence · PDF page 1
The chapter examines the troubled relations of Russia and the West, exploring the historical persistence of Russia’s geopolitical security predicament, reflecting its vast territory, lack of natural defensible borders, and limited access to the global sea lanes. As a consequence of the repeated invasions it has experienced, Russia’s strategic culture has displayed a deep sense of vulnerability vis-à-vis the West and a persistent concern to maintain strategic depth by means of buffer zones and spheres of influence.
- Russia's military interventions, such as the annexation of Crimea, are often driven by perceived threats to its security interests and a desire to prevent NATO expansion.
Source evidence · PDF page 17
Worried that the new authorities in Kyiv might in short order terminate Russia’s basing agreements in Crimea and apply for NATO membership, Putin authorised swift pre-emptive armed intervention to secure Crimea, buttressed by a hastily organised referendum in the Crimean peninsula.
- The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is a continuation of Russia's historical geopolitical struggle with the West, leading to a new line of contact between Russia and the Euro-Atlantic West.
Source evidence · PDF page 19
As a consequence, to date, the largest conventional war in Europe since 1945 continues, although there is little chance of Kyiv recovering Crimea or eliminating the Russian presence in its eastern territories. With the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO (neither of which was unexpected), the line of contact between the Russian Federation and the Euro-Atlantic West now runs from the Barents Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south.
Strategic Relevance
The document provides a foundational understanding of Russia's strategic culture and geopolitical drivers, which are critical for anticipating its foreign policy decisions and military actions, particularly concerning its western borders and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.