By pursuing the short-term profit goals of Russian oligarchs out of the conviction that this will promote Russia’s interest rather than considering the possible impact of such an approach on Russian national interests, Moscow is alienating Ukraine and Belarus, two Slavic neighbors it has long viewed as its inevitable allies and possibly more. Consequently, some analysts are now saying Russian may “lose” these two countries just as it did Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, the three Baltic states now firmly part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (ng.ru/cis/2013-08-29/3_kartblansh.html).
In his August 29 Nezavisimaya Gazeta article, Kost Bondarenko, the
director of the Institute of Ukrainian Policy, notes that many experts
are calling Russia’s approach to Ukraine at present “an economic war”
and some are even suggesting that what the Kremlin is doing reflects
“the imperial essence of official Moscow.” But beyond any doubt, the
economic sanctions Moscow has imposed—most notably on Ukraine’s largest
confectioner, Roshen (RIA Novosti, July 30)—are having exactly the
opposite effect the Russian leadership intended. While they are
inflicting real costs on Ukraine, they are not bringing Kyiv to heel but
rather causing ever more Ukrainians to conclude that they have no
choice but to pursue closer integration with Europe.
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