Russia's ability to get in its own way remains a cause for much head-scratching in the region. "When they tried to stop NATO enlargement, whom did they discuss it with? The United States and Germany," notes Kadri Liik, Director of the International Center for Defense Studies in Tallinn, Estonia. "But in fact the biggest driving force of NATO enlargement [was] the countries themselves. Russia tried to discuss these countries over their heads, and it backfired."
Something comparable is now happening again with energy. Moscow's apparent willingness to use energy supplies in its political disputes with some of its neighbors is now driving the European Union to seek greater diversification of supply and alternate pipeline routes. "Russia uses coercion more than attraction," says Moshes, the Helsinki-based analyst.
So is this just a symptom of poor policymaking -- or an expression of a deeper problem? Some worry that this tendency is deeply rooted in the present authoritarian government in Moscow -- one whose intense nationalism demands the constant search for enemies, external and internal, to legitimize its own actions. "That kind of regime cannot by definition enjoy 'normal' relations with its neighbors," notes Motyl, the Rutgers professor. Whatever the reason, one can only hope that Russia is able to find a way back to healthy relations with its former satellites -- for its own sake, one might add, as much as theirs.
"What I like about Caryl's piece is that he points out that it certainly doesn't have to be this way, and that Russia's missteps with its neighbors could be easily corrected should the leadership ever get it right."
The trouble is, Polish, Baltic and Western Ukrainian opinion was hostile to Russia even while Kozyrev was Foreign Minister and the main Russian foreign policy tool was the preemptive concession.
Russia actually has more reliable friends now than Russia had back then, because the German/French/Italian governments see value in maintaining good relations with Russia despite all the noise made by unappeasable Balts/Poles/Western Ukrainians/Americans.
The main difference between now and then is that the Russian government and people understand the reality of their situation and stick up for Russia's interests no matter what their unappeasable Balts/Poles/Western Ukrainians/Americans think.
One might think, listening to the lurid gibberish of the likes of RKKA, that Russians were NOT hostile to the West, but rather interested in listening to the West seriously and modifying their actions accordingly.
That, of course, would be yet another absurd neo-Soviet lie. Let's not forget that Russia is buzzing the American coastline with nuclear bombers on a regular basis, whilst America is doing no such thing to Russia.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/russia-resets-u-s-relations-back-to-cold-war-era/
The rhetoric of Russian leaders is FAR more anti-American than our leaders' is anti-Russian (after all, it's Russia and not the USA that is ruled by a proud secret police agent), and Russia is providing far more dangerous support to American enemies (like Venezuela and Iran) than America is to Russian foes like Ukraine and Georgia. America has wonderful relations with neighbors Mexico and Canada, while Russia is despised throughtout post-Soviet space.
And not for one singe second do pathological Russophile lunatics like RKKA stop to ask what Russia might have done to make itself so hated and reviled, much less do they discuss needed reform. That is why Russia has collapsed three times in the past century, and will soon do so again. With "friends" like RKKA, Russia needs no enemies.