The perplexing power of Russia’s relations with its neighbors

There are prominent contributions among scholars who have been engaged in a series of joint projects that are directly relevant to the broader aspects of the argument of this study, which examines Russian foreign and security policy after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. This chapter reviews their work in order to have a better understanding of Russian foreign policy in the South Caucasus and the shift in the Kremlin's external policy from its previous focus on relations with the West to its present focus on the creation of the Eurasian Union. It presents the neoclassical realist assumptions in order to address the questions of what explains Russia's foreign policy in the South Caucasus and the relevance for that policy of the creation of the Eurasian Union. It concludes by utilizing the neoclassical realist assumption that Russia will likely want more and will continue such influence to the extent that Moscow is able to do so.