Looking East: Evaluating Russia's Pivot to Asia

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: At the September 2012 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his “Pivot to Asia”, ostensibly launching a reorientation of Russia’s foreign policy. Yet, has Russia truly pivoted to Asia? If so, why? Data on Russia’s economic and security ties with major Asian countries illustrate that Russia’s shift to Asia is real, especially towards China. Such a shift has been motivated by the Kremlin’s desire to reduce Russia’s economic reliance on Europe in light of Western sanctions as well as shared regional security interests and elite diplomacy between Putin and other heads of state. While Putin and the Kremlin have taken deliberate actions to support a pivot east, broader geopolitical and economic trends have been at least as consequential in pushing Russia east, such as Asia’s growing economic power. Far from starting in 2012 with Putin’s pronouncement, Moscow continually looking east is part of a historical pattern dating back several hundred years. As the global balance of power shifts towards Asia, U.S. policymakers must be cognizant of the second and third order effects U.S. foreign policy can have on the Kremlin’s ties with major powers in Asia.

Type of resource	text
Date created	June 3, 2021

Author	Duchynski, Kyle R.
Primary advisor	McFaul, Michael
Advisor	Naimark, Norman M.
Degree granting institution	Stanford University, Center for International Security and Cooperation

Subject	Center for International Security and Cooperation
Subject	Russia
Subject	China
Subject	pivot
Subject	Russian foreign policy
Subject	international security
Genre	Thesis

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/gg245sb8154

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).

Preferred Citation: Duchynski, Kyle Robert. (2021). Looking East: Evaluating Russia's Pivot to Asia
. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/gg245sb8154

Stanford University, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Interschool Honors Program in International Security Studies, Theses

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