ABSTRACT
Because of their proximity to the former Soviet republics in Central Asia and the Transcaucasus, plus their historic, ethnic, linguistic, and religious links with these regions, the four countries known as the Northern Tier during the post-Second World War era—Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan—have enjoyed a high priority in Russia’s post-Soviet diplomacy. However, despite some similarities among these countries, the character of their relations with Russia has been quite different, ranging from seriously strained and even hostile, as in the cases of Pakistan and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, to pseudopartnership, as with Iran, while Turkey has occupied a more ambiguous position. The impact of the Islamic factor in shaping these relations has also vastly differed in the case of each country. In some cases, it has been a determining factor and a negative influence, as with Pakistan and Afghanistan. In other instances, its impact has been either negligible or derivative, as with Iran and Turkey.
