Russian domestic politics and the evolution in debates about foreign and military policy towards the CIS states, 1991–6

The evolution of the key Russian ideas or stated views that made up the main tendencies of foreign policy thinking between 1991 and 1996 can be traced through three stages of the policy debate during that period. In order to analyse whether the ideas may have impacted on policy choices, one can examine the government’s key foreign and military policies towards the near abroad for broad relations between the debates and policies.