"Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" - this truly brilliant aphorism by Winston Churchill characterizing Russia will become central idea of this course which has been designed to explore key themes that constitute the essence of international politics of post-Soviet Russia. While tackling complexity of changes experienced by Russian Foreign and Security Policy during the period of 1991 – 2017, special attention will be allocated to factual approach, nature, causes, main drivers and implications (national, regional and global dimensions) of these alterations.

On the other hand, given the fact that current Russian policies are inseparable from the Soviet background this course aims to show how and why do past and present intertwine and shape Russian foreign policy thinking and directions of its development. In the framework of this course we will try to approach a few questions constituting contemporary Russian foreign and security policy: to what extant historical legacy of the USSR can be traced in modern Russian foreign policy and why? What is the role of modern Russia in post-Soviet region? Yet, the course will not be reduced to examination of only these questions. On the contrary, Russian relations with such powerful players as China, for example, will be assessed as well as foreign policy within so-called “Russian neighborhood” (former Soviet states).

Assessment

The overall grade is calculated based on participation, team-working (groups’ presentations), individual presentations, midterm exam and final exam.

• Participation and group’s presentations (20%)
• Individual Presentations and follow-up discussion (30%)
• Quiz 1 on Session 7 (20 questions) (25%)
• Quiz 2 on Session 12 (20 questions) (25%)

Competences, learning outcomes and teaching activities (PDF)