Professional Affiliation

Professor, Tomsk State University

Expert Bio

Evgeny F. Troitskiy is Professor at the Department of World Politics, Tomsk State University (TSU). He holds an MA in International Relations and a Ph.D. and Doctor of Sciences Degrees in World History from TSU. He was Program Assistant at the NGO Civic Education Project from 2000 to 2002, Assistant Lecturer at the Department of World Politics from 2003 to 2005, Associate Professor from 2005 to 2012 and Professor since 2012.  Dr. Troitskiy’s major areas of research are international politics of the post-Soviet space and the European Union’s cohesion policy. He has authored more than 50 academic publications and held grants and fellowships from the European Commission, Fulbright Program, Erasmus Mundus Program, Rockefeller Foundation, Carnegie Endowment, Foundation for the Furtherance of Swedish – Russian Relations, Gerda Henkel Foundation and Central European University.

Wilson Center Project

Leader and Followers: Russia’s policies in the post-Soviet space

Project Summary

Russia perceives itself as an uncontestable leader of its regional environment, the post-Soviet space also known as “Eurasia”, its regional leadership also seen as one of the pillars of Russia’s great power status. Two alliances with almost overlapping memberships, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union, define the circle of Moscow’s closest allies in war and peace. Bilateral alliances with each of the member states underpin the multilateral structures.

However, both in Moscow and in the capitals of Russian allies there is an almost pervasive perception, among policymakers as well as within expert communities, of a crisis in Russia- centered alliances and of the accelerated erosion of political, economic and societal fabric tying Russia with Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Russian policymakers increasingly regard Moscow’s post-Soviet allies as unreliable, disloyal and harbouring anti-Russian designs.

What is Russia’s conception of its position vis-à-vis its post-Soviet allies and its expectations of their foreign policy behavior? What are Russian allies’ conceptions of their roles in the post-Soviet networks of alliances and coalitions and their expectations of Russia’s regional leadership? Are contradictions between Russia and Belarus and Russia and Kazakhstan growing and how might the relations linking Moscow with Minsk and Astana be transformed in the future? What can smaller allies, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, expect of Russia in terms of provision of security and economic benefits? These are the questions this research seeks to address.

Major Publications

• Vneshnyaya politika i mezhdunarodnye svyazi Evropeiskogo Soyuza: osmyslivaya rol’ ES v mire (Foreign Policy and International Affairs of the European Union: Comprehending the Role of the EU in the World). Irkutsk, Ottisk, 2018 (co-authored with L.O. Igumnova, O.G. Lekarenko, Yu.G. Agafonov et al.) 
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  Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya v Tsentral’noi Azii: sobytiya i dokumenty (International Relations in Central Asia: Events and Documents). Moscow, Aspect Press, 2011, chapters 6, 7. (co-authored with A.D. Bogaturov, M.A. Khrustalev, A.S. Dundich)
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  Turmoil in Kyrgyzstan: A Challenge to Russian Foreign Policy. Stockholm, Swedish Institute of International Affairs, 2012. URL: http://www.ui.se/upl/files/68727.pdf
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  Politika SShA v Tsentral’noi Azii (1992 – 2004) (U.S. Policy in Central Asia (1992 – 2004). Tomsk, Tomsk State University, 2005, 183 pp.
• Central Asian Regional Security Complex: The Impact of Russian and US Policies. In: Global Society, 2015, vol. 29, # 1, pp. 2-22.