ABSTRACT
The Russian republic is the only force that counts in terms of world politics. The shock waves of the Russian earthquake will continue, and the ultimate outcome of the present struggle for power in Moscow will not be certain for a long time. The Russian federation, Azerbaijan, as well as the five Central Asian republics might sign a new Union treaty, and White Russia and the Ukraine can perhaps be persuaded to enter into a close relationship with the new confederation. From the Russian point of view, close cooperation with the Ukraine is infinitely more important than the link with the Central Asian republics and Azerbaijan, the most backward and the most corrupt parts of the former Soviet empire. Illusions about speedy integration into a common European market are bound to fade very soon in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.
