ABSTRACT
The Russian banking sector is in some respects a rather odd sector for inclusion in the present volume. To be sure, the sector’s development and the interactions between financial-sector business interests and the state have had implications for Russian foreign relations. However, despite the overseas ambitions of a few banks, the banking sector remains overwhelmingly focused on the domestic market. It has been neither the source of serious transnational conflict nor an important instrument for advancing Russia’s foreign policy agenda. It has, however, complicated Russia’s external relations from time to time. Usually, this has been a product of problems that afflict the banking system, such as corruption and money laundering, or with the authorities’ manipulation of the system in ways that have subsequently proved embarrassing. The story of the banks’ role in Russian diplomacy is thus a story about the banks’ weakness rather than their strength.
