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$21.57The Story
Russian leaders have always considered the Balkans to be an area of special Russian interests. After the end of the Cold War, the region again became the focus of attention with the violent breakup of federal Yugoslavia, as Moscows policymakers attempted to secure Russia s position as a major player in international diplomacy. However, tensions between Russia and Western states grew over the role of NATO, peaking in 1999 during NATOs bombing of Serbia. Subsequently, President Putin linked the conflicts in the Balkans to the wider phenomenon of international terrorism, arguing that Russia and the West share common concerns; but differences remain over policy on Kosovo. Russia and the Balkans analyses Russias policy from the death of communist Yugoslavia through the conflicts in Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo and Macedonia, to the war on terror and disputes over the status of Kosovo in the mid2000s. It reveals that policy on the Balkans under Yeltsin and Putin was a matter of deep controversy in the Russian political elite, media, and academia, and was a prominent feature in the fierce disputes which raged over the orientation of foreign policy after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Description
Russian leaders have always considered the Balkans to be an area of special Russian interests. After the end of the Cold War, the region again became the focus of attention with the violent breakup of federal Yugoslavia, as Moscows policymakers attempted to secure Russia s position as a major player in international diplomacy. However, tensions between Russia and Western states grew over the role of NATO, peaking in 1999 during NATOs bombing of Serbia. Subsequently, President Putin linked the conflicts in the Balkans to the wider phenomenon of international terrorism, arguing that Russia and the West share common concerns; but differences remain over policy on Kosovo. Russia and the Balkans analyses Russias policy from the death of communist Yugoslavia through the conflicts in Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo and Macedonia, to the war on terror and disputes over the status of Kosovo in the mid2000s. It reveals that policy on the Balkans under Yeltsin and Putin was a matter of deep controversy in the Russian political elite, media, and academia, and was a prominent feature in the fierce disputes which raged over the orientation of foreign policy after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
