Online published on 22 June, 2015.
The end of communist rule and the disintegration of the Soviet Union brought into focus a new world for Russian politics. It clearly marked a turning point, not just for Russia but also for the entire former Soviet space. The achievements, collapses, fissures and reconstructions that have characterised Russian and Eurasian politics require analysts to take a broad perspective encompassing different approaches. Although former Soviet states have been involved in the fundamental task of carving out distinct national identities for the past two decades, a common thread forms a bond between them. All have been affected profoundly by the demands, desires, successes and failures of Russian history and the internal contradictions within their own societies. This paper studies the issues and challenges that shape and colour the analysis of post-Soviet politics with regard to both internal and external policies.
