CIS countries must themselves recognize value of relations with Russia – Georgy Asatryan

Speaking with Alpha News, Georgy Asatryan, Deputy Director of the HSE Institute of World Military Economy and Strategy, commented on Russia and the West’s policy in the post-Soviet space, highlighting the effectiveness of Western soft power.

“On a practical level, we can see how discourse in the CIS countries has been changing over the past 5-10 years—what politicians are talking about, what they’re listening to, what arguments they’re using. All of this is strengthening the influence of Western countries. Geopolitically, this is a competitive struggle between Russia and Western countries for influence in the CIS. Western soft power in the CIS is successful because, firstly, it’s been practiced professionally and for a long time; secondly, it’s allocated enormous financial resources; and thirdly, the greatest success is achieved where social practices and identity are relatively weak.

Approaches can be found in any society, as is evident in the examples of Iran and China. But eroding one’s own identity doesn’t benefit society. Success is achieved where social identity is weak and the political system is unstable. Such work is underway in virtually many CIS countries, but not all countries are ready to destroy their identity. It is crucial whether this depends on society or the political elites. The political elites play the primary role because everything comes from above. Social processes are also important, but without the elites’ position, profound change will not occur,” Asatryan said.