ABSTRACT
Russia had made slow and limited progress towards democracy after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but this process was reversed after Vladimir Putin came to power in 1999-2000, when the government took control over the national media and core industries, including the energy sector. Increased Russian capabilities during Putin's presidency helped to drive policymakers' perceptions of external threats, interests and opportunities in the South Caucasus. Georgia is an easy target for Putin's grand strategy in the near abroad, when its two breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, announced their readiness to join the Eurasian Economic Union. During the last two decades several attempts have been made to define the concept of international regime, which Susan Strange and other scholars considered a failure due to the "woolliness" of the concept. The chapter emphasizes that Russia's foreign policy in the South Caucasus is driven by its place in the international system and, specifically, by its relative material power capabilities.
