The Russian Domestic Debate on Policy Toward the “Near Abroad”

Russian domestic debate on policy towards its "near abroad" represented a key portion of discussions on Russia's foreign and security policy after the disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In 1992 the ruling democrats argued that Russia needed to concentrate on domestic problems such as economic reconstruction as well as social and political modernisation. The isolationists referred mainly to the fact that in 1992, after the 1991 Soviet collapse, the burden of subsidizing the Commonwealth of Independent States member states remained too heavy for the depleted Russian economy. The escalation of conflicts in the "near abroad" was either a result of the instability of some governments and their inability to halt hostilities, or a direct consequence of Moscow's isolationist policy. In Tajikistan, small contingencies from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan participate in the Collective Peacekeeping Forces, but their military importance is symbolic and they are most probably financed from Moscow.