VIENNA: In a world where the Soviet Union no longer exists, where new centers of power and influence are emerging, one important question remains: what has taken the place of that huge space on the map once inscribed with the letters "USSR"? The disintegration of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Russia's fall from being the indisputable leader of the Commonwealth, the formation of bilateral and multilateral alliances within the CIS that are oblivious to Russia's interests: these are substantial rebukes to Russian influence and to the idea that a quick reintegration of the commonwealth states around Russia is possible. The economic unity of the Soviet Union was largely determined by the interests of the old common military-industrial complex, for whom economic expediency and competition were alien notions because it operated in an environment of economic isolation and military-political confrontation with the rest of the world. The political reforms initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev put an end to the cold war and opened the country up but no common interest appeared to take the place of the lost imperial/military mission.
VIENNA: In a world where the Soviet Union no longer exists, where new centers of power and influence are emerging, one important question remains: what has taken the place of that huge space on the map once inscribed with the letters "USSR"? The disintegration of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Russia's fall from being the indisputable leader of the Commonwealth, the formation of bilateral and multilateral alliances within the CIS that are oblivious to Russia's interests: these are substantial rebukes to Russian influence and to the idea that a quick reintegration of the commonwealth states around Russia is possible. The economic unity of the Soviet Union was largely determined by the interests of the old common military-industrial complex, for whom economic expediency and competition were alien notions because it operated in an environment of economic isolation and military-political confrontation with the rest of the world. The political reforms initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev put an end to the cold war and opened the country up but no common interest appeared to take the place of the lost imperial/military mission.