As the geopolitical status-quo between Russia and the West deteriorates, and Easter Europe once again emerges as the battlefield of great power rivalry, Agnia Grigas’ new book provides indispensable insight into the myriad of complexities that this region harbours. Beyond Crimea not only illuminates the ideological drivers of Russia’s foreign policy under the Presidency of Vladimir Putin, but also provides an exceptionally detailed and deeply researched account of the multitude of policies that Moscow has pursued in the post-Soviet region over the course of the past twenty-five years.
Beyond Crimea possibly owes its greatest strength to the hitherto marginally discussed topic of Russian compatriots. To date, there are around 35 million ethnic Russians, Russian speakers and individuals who culturally associate themselves with Russia, and are scattered throughout the post-Soviet region. In this book, the author masterfully demonstrates how the Kremlin utilizes these individuals to achieve its geopolitical ends.
To prove her claim, Grigas provides in-depth analysis covering 14 states that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. It is important to note that the book also sheds light both on the new break-away territories such as Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, and older ‘frozen conflicts’ like Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh. By analyzing countries as distant from each other as Estonia in the west and Kazakhstan in the east, the author demonstrates how to various degrees of success, all of the former Soviet countries have been hit by Russia’s reimperialization trajectory.
At the cost of occasionally sounding like an academic textbook, Beyond Crimea is exceptionally comprehensive and detailed. It provides a nuanced account of the various political, economic and social instruments that the Kremlin uses to accomplish its reimperialization agenda, all while retaining an eye on the bigger picture. In particular, Grigas dedicates an entire chapter that delicately covers all the laws, policies and strategies that Moscow has implemented in relation to the Russian minorities living abroad since the early 1990s to the present day.
This is a colossal research project where Grigas draws upon the expertise of local political analysts and activists, offers insights from interviews with Russian compatriots across the former Soviet republics, and uses sources in local languages that have been previously inaccessible to Western scholars.
In sum, this is a highly recommended book for everyone with an interest both in the former Soviet bloc and contemporary Russian foreign policy, while for experts it will serve well as a reference manual.
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