| Russia's relations with Belarus and Ukraine have been particularly substantive and multidimensional, involving high levels of interaction and encompassing a wide range of salient issues in the political, military, economic and societal spheres. In the second half of the 1990s, their institutional framework was developed to reflect the different processes of bilateral integration between Russia and Belarus, on the one hand, and of a less far-reaching cooperation between Russia and Ukraine, on the other. This work analyses and compares Russo-Belarusian and Russo-Ukrainian relations since the mid-1990s, examining their role in domestic politics and placing them in the wider international context. It is concerned with the formulation of objectives and strategies guiding Russia's policies towards Belarus and Ukraine, surveying the perspectives of different elite groups and public opinion. It investigates linkages between issues in bilateral relations along with Russia's use of various policy instruments. Relative gains in Russia's economic relations with Belarus and Ukraine respectively are considered in order to assess the effectiveness of economic levers in each case. The evolution of the Russia-Belarus Union forms a major part of the study, looking beyond its institutional development into the progress actually made in attaining declared objectives, particularly economic convergence and unity in terms of foreign and defence policy. Likewise, the contractual basis of relations between Russia and Ukraine is examined and contrasted with actual tendencies in bilateral social and economic interaction as well as with the development of political and military cooperation. The material and conceptual factors shaping the external orientations of Belarus and Ukraine are explored with a view to understanding their diverging positions towards Russia. |
