| The Caspian Sea region has been Russia's traditional sphere of influence ever sincePeter the Great era. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the Republic ofKazakhstan, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkmenistan becomethree sovereign countries. As a result, the status of geopolitics in this region is entirelychanged, where Russia and Iran shared the jurisdiction for several hundred years. Dueto the appearence of power vacancy and the rich petroleum reserves in this region, theCaspian Sea became the focus of disputes among international powers. These newcoastal countries claimed their development strategy which relies on oil and naturalgas. To solve domestic economy problem, they strived for the exploitation of energyin the Caspian Sea. Therefore, all the coastal countries confront many problem, suchas how to determine the new legal status of the Caspian Sea, how to delimit theboundary, how to lay the petroleum pipeline, how to protect ecology etc. Influencedby the new geopolitics, weak Russia became its new diplomatic policy in the CaspianSea region. To protect Russia's interest in the region, Russia's policy in the CaspianSea experienced a process of adjustment. The process includes three phases, that isconfrontation, compromise, cooperation. In the early 1990's, Russia insisted that legalstatus of the Caspian Sea should be the same as that of the Soviet Union period. Inthis phase, the target of Russia's policy in the Caspian Sea was unclear, Russia was ina passive position. Since the mid 1990's, being objected by the other countries in theregion and challenged by the countries outside the region, Russia began to seek thesimilar position with the other coastal countries. The objective of Russia's policy is tomonopolize the transportation of petroleum, and restore and strengthen its influence inthis region in the long run. Since early 21century, Russia has formed a clear strategyframework and determined to adopt a pragmatic policy of cooperation. |
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