Russian Grand Strategy? Russia’s Promotion of Armed Conflicts in the South Caucasus

SHEVCHUK, Zinaida. Russian Grand Strategy? Russia’s Promotion of Armed Conflicts in the South Caucasus. In SGEM. SGEM: Political Sciences Proceedings. Sofia: International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference on Social Science and Arts, 2016, p. 501-506. ISBN 978-619-7105-51-3. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.5593/sgemsocial2016HB21.

Basic information

• Original name: Russian Grand Strategy? Russia’s Promotion of Armed Conflicts in the South Caucasus
• Authors: SHEVCHUK, Zinaida (268 Georgia, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: Sofia, SGEM: Political Sciences Proceedings, p. 501-506, 6 pp. 2016.
• Publisher: International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference on Social Science and Arts

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Proceedings paper
• Field of Study: 50601 Political science
• Country of publisher: Bulgaria
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• Publication form: printed version "print"
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14230/16:00093043
• Organization unit: Faculty of Social Studies
• ISBN: 978-619-7105-51-3
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5593/sgemsocial2016HB21
• Keywords in English: Grand strategy armed conflicts Russia South Caucasus

Abstract

One of the long-term grand strategic goals of Russia in the South Caucasus region is to keep Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia in its zone of “privileged interest” as a satellite states and restrict the penetration of Western power. The implication for Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia is the biggest challenge to their security and unresolved conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia is reluctant to lose its dominance in the South Caucasus and its military presence in the region is the highest in the last twenty years. Russia’s operationalization of the New-Generation Warfare has demonstrated that the ancient Soviet art of reflexive control can set a dangerous pattern for security architecture in the whole post-Soviet region. The study sheds a light on Russia´s power-projection tools and practices in the armed conflicts of the South Caucasus region after the Russian-Georgian armed conflict in 2008. The finding of this research draws some tentative conclusions about Russian strategy in “frozen” conflicts in the Post-Soviet space, as a tool to keep these states from the NATO and EU membership in future.