FTER A DECADE of foreign -policy weakness and decline, Russia is back. President Vladimir Putin has displayed a new assertive-ness in dealing with Western Europe, his Commonwealth of Independent States' neighbors and the United States. In the final months of 2007 Mr. Putin adroitly scripted his political transition, with the goal of assuring stability and preserving economic and foreign-policy gains realized under his administration. His anointed successor, the young and loyal first deputy prime minister, Dmitri Medvedev, was chosen to ensure continuity with the policies of the past eight years. Further guaranteeing Mr. Putin's agenda would be preserved, United Russia, the subservient "party of power," scored an impressive victory in the December parliamentary elections.
展开▼
