Moscow’s New Rules

... borderland. Vis-à-vis Georgia, the border is protected by Russian military outposts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Vis-à-vis Azerbaijan, a degree of cooperation with Baku is required. This doesn’t mean that all alliances are useless. In Central Asia,... ... equally unwilling to cede parts of their sovereignty to supranational bodies that would be dominated by Russia. This dual refusal has put an end to the outsize ambitions of some, and unrealistic expectations of others. With Belarus, Russia set out to build a union state back in 1999. Since the start, that union has been little more than a cover for ...