ABSTRACT
Russian-European security has been a two-way street. Whether positively or negatively, by design or by default, it has rarely been possible for non-Russian Europe to pursue security policies for the continent without reference to Russian domestic developments or to Russian foreign and security concerns. The cause of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was championed as the basis for 'a unified, non-bloc Europe' to which other organisations such as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) would be subordinate. Recognition of the realities and the limits to Russia's power may have constantly nagged at the desire to be resolute. Moscow was not much trusted to respect the independence and sovereignty either of the former Warsaw Pact allies or of former Soviet (FSU) states. Four centuries of Russian territorial advance and annexation has been wiped out, leaving as a residue a Russian state quite unfamiliar to modern European diplomatic history.
