The Woodrow Wilson Center Press
Russia, the Near Abroad, and the West
Related Topics: Russia
Post-communist Russia turned against the West in the 2000s, losing its earlier eagerness to collaborate with western Europe on economic and security matters and adopting a suspicious and defensive posture. This book, investigating a diplomatic negotiation involving Russia and the formerly Soviet Moldova, explains this dramatic shift in Russian foreign policy.
William H. Hill, himself a participant in the diplomatic encounter, describes a key episode that contributed to Russia’s new attitude: negotiations over the Russian-leaning break-away territory of Transdniestria in Moldova—in which Moldova abandoned a Russian-supported settlement at the last minute under heavy pressure from the West. Hill’s first-hand account provides a unique perspective on historical events as well as information to assist scholars and policymakers to evaluate future scenarios.
When western leaders blocked what they saw as an unworkable settlement in a small, remote post-Soviet state, Kremlin leaders perceived a direct geopolitical challenge on their own turf. This event colored Russia’s interpretations of subsequent western intervention in the region—in Georgia after the Rose Revolution, Ukraine in 2004, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and elsewhere throughout the former Soviet empire.
What People are Saying
"Russia, the Near Abroad, and the West should be required reading for all Transnistrian settlement optimists, especially for those Europeans with ambitious plans for a quick resolution outside of official channels."-William Schreiber, New Eastern Europe 2012
"There is nothing coming even close, in terms of the breadth of vision and depth of knowledge of the subject matter, among the disparate journal accounts and position papers available up to now. This book is an absolute must." - Vladimir Solonari, University of Central Florida, former Member of Parliament of the Republic of Moldova
Chapter List
Preface ix
Maps of the Region xvii
1. Introduction: How Things All Went Bad 1
2. Russia and the Post–Cold War Euro-Atlantic Security Architecture 9
3. Confl ict Resolution in the Former Soviet Union: Russian Mediation, Peacemaking, and Peacekeeping 29
4. The Soviet Collapse and the Transdniestrian Confl ict 48
5. The Voronin Constitutional Initiative 63
6. The Joint Constitutional Commission: Buyers’ Remorse? 81
7. Roadblocks over Security Issues 92
8. The Summer of 2003: Pressing for a Settlement 109
9. The Competing Negotiations 119
10. A Settlement Is at Hand 138
11. The Dénouement 149
12. Confl ict Resolution in Moldova and East-West Relations after Kozak 160
13. Russia and the West: An Endless Dilemma? 182
Appendixes
A. The Mediators’ Document 185
B. The Kozak Memorandum—September 11 Draft 197
C. The Kozak Memorandum—November 23 Redaction 207
Notes 221
Bibliography 253
Index 261