A specter is haunting the new Europe, the specter of "Russian
pragmatism." After a decade of ambiguity and uncertainty in Russian
policy, Vladimir Putin's Kremlin has embarked on a coherent and
rational plan to regain its influence over former satellites and to
limit Western penetration in key parts of the former Soviet Union.
Two recent dramatic events have highlighted President Vladimir
Putin's foreign policy ambitions: the crackdown on independent-minded
big business and the assault on Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Putin views the mammoth energy industries as valuable tools to expand
Moscow's foreign policy influence. While Yeltsin used the oligarchs
to guarantee his own power, Putin is determined to control the
oligarchs to expand Russian state interests. yukos ceo Mikhail
Khodorkovsky not only crossed the line in his domestic political
ambitions, but also increasingly contradicted the Kremlin's external
goals. A telling Pravda editorial on November 7 expressed outrage
over the hue and cry in the West at Khodorkovsky's arrest. According
to the editors, Putin is putting Russia back into the hands of the
authorities after a "decade of lunacy under Boris Yeltsin" and is
"placing a damper on the assault on Russia's resources by American
companies." In recent weeks, Exxon Mobil and Chevron Texaco were
vying to acquire a large part of yukos' shares, and this seriously
disturbed Moscow.
