Russia’s policy toward the Mediterranean region

Maksymenko, Iryna V.; Максименко, Ірина Володимирівна

Russia’s policy toward the Mediterranean region

Файли

159-173.pdf (504.72 KB)

Дата

2024

Автори

Maksymenko, Iryna V.

Максименко, Ірина Володимирівна

Видавець

Astroprint

Анотація

The history of Russia is about fighting to get access to the seas: from the Livonian and the Great Northern War, when Russia got under its control the Baltic Sea, to the Russo-Turkish Wars for the Black Sea basin. Traditionally, the Baltic and Black Sea regions were considered by the Kremlin key theaters of Russia's strategy to counter the European states’ presence and influence through hybrid strategy, coercive diplomacy, and nuclear blackmailing. Thus, in the Baltic Sea region, Russia has strengthened its presence with the Baltic Fleet and land-based forces deployed in the Kaliningrad region, accompanied by the massive concentration of Russian troops in Belarus and the announcement of the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons at the Belarusian territory. After Crimea’s inclusion as a federal entity, the Black Sea region was officially defined as a vital zone for Russia’s territorial integrity and nuclear deterrence. This approach was confirmed in the 2022 Maritime Doctrine of the Russian Federation that declares these two regions, including the Sea of Azov, as well as the Black Sea and Baltic Straits, to be essential zones for ensuring the national interests of Russia, its economic development and national security, as well as supporting strategic and regional security. It also contains a list of challenges and threats to Russia’s national interests; among them are NATO’s approach to its borders and armed conflicts in the proximity of particular geopolitical importance for Russia. Therefore, the Kremlin defined the “unconditional right” to deploy and use the Russian Navy forces in the “vital zones for ensuring the national interests of the Russian Federation” as a strategy for the “comprehensive strengthening of geopolitical positions” in the World Ocean. The Mediterranean Sea, especially the eastern part of it, is one of these “vital zones” where Russia is considered to be a “pre-eminent naval power … earned this role on the field” (Rettman, 2020). The direct linkage of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean in the Russian discourse raises a question about the Kremlin’s interests and objectives in the basin. Scrutinizing the strategic documents on Russian national security and foreign policy, the Kremlin officials’ statements, as well as papers dedicated to the Russian policy towards the Mediterranean region, the paper aims to clarify whether the Kremlin strategy towards the Mediterranean is an instrument of Russia’s greatness assertion or one of the theaters of its counteraction with the EU and NATO. Starting from the brief overview of Russian police in the Mediterranean in a historical retrospective, the study will look at the conceptual and practical acts of the Kremlin in modern days, aiming to answer the question of whether Russia is a threat to the EU posture in the Mediterranean region, one of the most essential hubs for the European security and stability.

Ключові слова

Russia, the Mediterranean region, Russia’s plans towards the Mediterranean, modern Russian posture in the Mediterranean, the “Greater Mediterranean” concept, the Syrian war, the 2022 Maritime Doctrine, Russian hybrid strategy in the Mediterranean, Russia’s Collective Security Concept for the Persian Gulf Region, international relations

Бібліографічний опис

Maksymenko I. Russia’s policy toward the Mediterranean region / I. Maksymenko // Multidimensional regionalism in the Mediterranean: actors and challenges : monograph / author collective: O. Brusylovska, V. Cassar, M. Doğan et al. ; eds.: O. Brusylovska, S. Erdoğan, D. Irrera. – Odesa : Astroprint, 2024. – P. 159–173.