Russian Grand Strategy: The Quest for Major Power Status and a Multipolar World Order

Why has Russia embraced a global foreign policy after 1991, despite its limitations when compared to the Soviet Union? What distinguishes the current moment from the long-standing Russian quest for major power status is the particular grand strategy adopted by Moscow since the mid-1990s. Here, the grand strategy is labelled as 'multipolarity', and it consists of a series of grand principles that reflect Russia's views on the roles of major powers, the West, and itself. In turn, the specific ways deployed have changed and adapted according to the changing circumstances in which Moscow's foreign policy is deployed. Notably, Russia differentiates in the means used in relations with its neighbours, with the major powers, and with the broader world, but all together are meant to reinforce the goals of Russian multipolarity.