Dealing with Russia: Peter Frankopan

Professor Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads and The New Silk Roads, discusses the geopolitical positions of the Caucasus and Central Asia: should we look at this region as ‘Russia’s backyard’, or is that just what the Kremlin wants us to believe? 

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, tensions have risen in other post-Soviet states. The resurgence of the armed conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus and between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in Central Asia show how unstable Russia’s backyard is at the moment. 

What makes that some states have remained a loyal position towards Russia, whereas others are trying to carve out a more independent course? And has Russia’s perception of these regions changed over the last year?

Peter Frankopan is professor of Global History at the University of Oxford. He wrote multiple books, including The Silk Roads and The New Silk Roads, which adopts a Eurasian point of view to illustrate the eastward movement of world power.  

Dealing with Russia

With this four-part programme series, which is partially funded by NATO, we want to provide in-depth analysis of current affairs and facilitate nuanced debate, thus making complex material accessible. How have Russian-Western relations changed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, how does Russia view its relations with former Soviet States, and what motivates the EU, NATO and the USA? What are the consequences of the hybrid forms of warfare? Such as cyber- and psychological warfare, and economic sanctions. In order to understand the current state of affairs, Dealing with Russia will focus on the larger historical, societal and cultural context.