How successful has Putin been in protecting Russias security, Essay

How successful has Putin been in protecting Russias security, maintaining its influence and creating an international climate favourable for its economic devel - Essay Example We talk about the nature of policy which the Russian government has put forward and which talks about two key issues. Firstly it tries to look at Russia’s response to the events of 9/11 and it talks whether it was a turning point in their development of policies and secondly the paper addresses whether the foreign policy put forward by Putin is pragmatic in nature. September 11 2001 changed the face of world politics as so was Russia’s policies with other countries. During the time of Yeltsin and even the pre 9/11 reign of Putin the foreign policies was strikingly different of what it was portrayed after 9/11. There were signals of friendship and protests at the same time. Protests over expansion of NATO and military action in Balkans showcase the stance of Russian policy. After 9/11 the scenario completely changed, terrorism has become the highest priority for all the western nations and Russia was no exception, Moscow subway bombings and Terror tragedy at Beslan confirmed the priority levels which Russia has for terrorism. After 9/11 happened it was Putin who first contacted Washington and thereafter it was ensured that contact with Washington remained at good level. When we compare the policies post 9/11 and before it we can see some marked changes in it. We can say that Moscow under Yeltsin was more of action than words. The 1997 and 1999 incidents of Bosnia led to the confirmation of fact that Russia under Yeltsin has self limiting quality. On the other hand Putin followed a cautious policy which did no good for the country as there was no clear orientations of the plan and that people were confused about his policies structure and its nature. But the events post September brought out a change in his style and approach towards west in general and USA in particular. His policy of cooperation can be said as the changes taking place in the international environment. Russia support to America on global