To Be True to Itself, Russia Must Stop Viewing Itself Between East and West and Instead Position Itself as ‘the Geopolitical North,’ Moscow Scholars and Officials Say

 Paul Goble

            Staunton, Nov. 25 – Many people think that if Russia turns away from the West, it can only become part of the East, but in fact, if it is to be true to itself, Moscow scholars and officials are now saying, it must stop thinking of itself alone an East-West axis and instead position itself as ‘the geopolitical North.”

            That position was articulated most clearly by Aleksey Overchuk, a Russian deputy prime minister, a month ago at a conference in Baku. He argued that Russia no longer is positioning itself along the East-West model others use and that it is “no longer in the East of Europe but in the North of Eurasia” (youtube.com/watch?v=W4ARaFso_qI).

            Strategic Cultural Foundation commentator Vladimir Mikheyev surveys these various statements at fondsk.ru/news/2022/11/25/rossija-gotovitsja-stat-geopoliticheskim-severom-57776.html and points out that seeing Russia as the new global North will allow Russia to reduce the threat to it from any clash between the West and China.

            What makes such remarks intriguing is that they are a sign that many who want Russia to be anti-Western do not want to fall under Chinese influence and are searching for a conceptual way out. Whether that is possible remains to be seen, but these efforts are a sign that at least some in the Russian capital are worried.