Relations With Russia

economic reforms: The first challenge is to accept that for all the effort expended, the attempt to build relations with Russia based on shared values and interests failed, according to The Moscow Times. While Western countries made many mistakes in their handling of Russia, in particular, the backing of economic reforms that created oligarchic capitalism, the fundamental reason for this outcome was Russia relapse into a traditional model of governance and its insistence on the need to undercut the independence of the other post-Soviet countries to ensure its security. For governments that have tried for nearly 25 years to develop relations based on partnership and cooperation with Russia, the adjustment to a model of confrontation and competition is challenging both intellectually and institutionally, particularly since the expertise of the Cold War generation of analysts and strategists has been largely lost. The Russian leadership is seeking a new set of rules that give Russia the right to limit its neighbors' sovereignty. The objective is to secure and reinforce the existing Russian development model by reducing external competitive pressures. This is part of a broader effort to reduce the dominance of Western institutions and realign global forces to Russia advantage. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.