Russia’s Power Projection after the Ukraine Crisis

This essay discusses how Russia’s power manifested itself in relation to Western policies in its neighbourhood. It focuses on how Russia understands power, the way this understanding impacts the ideational and cultural influence that it projects, and how Moscow has applied a range of tools in Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus. It argues that Russia’s power projection cannot be understood without reference to its interactions with the West. The 2014 crisis in Ukraine brought greater consistency to Moscow’s approach, which has become more strategic, mixing different elements in pursuit of foreign policy objectives. Still, Moscow remains an anti-revisionist power beyond the Ukrainian case and continues to act as a status quo power in Europe where it has been adapting its strategies to a climate of hostile international relations. Russian soft power is a significant asset that needs to be recognised as a phenomenon in its own right and more clearly distinguished from the direct pursuit of state interests.