Russia And The Cis Essays - International Relations,

Russia And The Cis When the Soviet Union fell in 1991, due to many pressures both internal and external, the ex-soviet satellites were given their independence, much to Russia's dismay. A new trend towards sovereignty made it difficult for the largest country in the world to deny it's former members the right to separate. However, even with the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Russia is still heavily involved with the matters of its former soviet members. This then leaves the question, are those former states truly sovereign? In the following pages we will examine the many reasons as to why this question is currently being posed. Firstly, we will look at Russia's history on the international scene and how they have not really changed their agenda throughout the last century, up into the present. Along with the brief history, we shall elaborate on the reasons why the CIS was founded. Furthermore, modern day Russia seems to feel the need to impose itself upon these new sovereign states for various reasons that we will elaborate upon. Lastly, the members of the CIS see Russia as both a friend and foe to the organisation, which will be shown by looking at their interests and why they have divided views. However, to fully understand the complexities that are the Russian Empire, let us take a step back in time to when Peter the Great was building a country of grandeur. In the early 18th century, Peter the Great continued the expansion set forth by his predecessors, and fought a long war against the seasoned Swedish army. With the final defeat of their army, Peter gained control of several small countries, Latvia, Lithuania, Ingria and Estonia. Upon his return from the war the Russian senate voted that he bear the title of the Great and Emperor, his acceptance of the last title marked the official inauguration of the Russian Empire. Peter the Great continued to fight wars in hopes of expanding Russia's borders and its economy, regardless of cost, which eventually led to mistrust within the empire. Russia was indeed a world power, influencing and controlling its neighbours. Having built such a vast empire was only part of Peter's public appeal, he was a very ruthless but enlightened leader, the kind that appealed to the Russian people. In one of the bloodier cases, he had 1000 members of a coup d'?tat assassinated, a punishment that he himself helped administer. Upon his death, many school children were then raised to see Peter as a hero, and a model leader. Perhaps then it is not so surprising that in the decades to follow, his accepted ruthlessness would be passed down into the next generations of leaders, this time having stricter doctrines within the regimes. As Karl Marx's ideas of socialism spread across a desperate nation several men stepped forward to end the oppression and starvation of their beloved country. The Russian revolution in 1917 seemed to be a refreshing change compared to the imperialism of the old regime and so countries such as Ukraine, Poland and Belarus joined willingly, hoping to find guidance for their country. Regardless of the many positive changes in the late 1920's, Joseph Stalin gained sole control of the Soviet Union and was more or less as ruthless as Peter the great himself. He began expanding and militarising the union, putting the state above each and every man. In the Ukraine, profitable farms were condensed into collective farms hoping to support industrialisation, and as a result there was a great famine and an estimated 5 to 7 million Ukrainians died. Even in Ukraine's darker period, because of their many natural resources, they were still considered very important to the Soviet Empire, almost its back bone. The Ukraine was not the only country to be used by the Soviets. Since the USSR spanned eight time zones, the land occupied was enormous; in fact it was the largest in the world. With such diverse landscapes there came many different natural resources which were used to feed and house the population of the Soviet Union as well as push the economy forward with its exports. The trees blanketing one-third of the Soviet Union constituted more than one-quarter of the