International Affairs No. 3, 2022 – Table of Contents

IN MARCH, our journal turned 100. We thank our readers, colleagues, and friends for their anniversary congratulations, warm words, and confidence in the future!

Articles, interviews, commentaries, and essays published in Mezhdunarodnaya zhizn [International Affairs] over these 100 years are a historical record of the foreign policy of our country and a chronicle of international relations. Some of the articles were prescient and are still relevant. Others highlight past events that can be lessons to us today and help address present-day crises and confrontations. …

Keywords: 100th anniversary of Mezhdunarodnaya zhizn

A CENTURY in the history of a country and even the world is a long time, especially in our day, when eras change within the lifetime of just one generation. Much of what seemed unshakable and eternal 100 years ago has sunk into oblivion, transforming into new political systems, states, ideologies, self-perceptions, and global perceptions. A great country – the USSR, which would have turned 100 this year – is no more. However, 15 independent states, which bear little resemblance to loving sisters, have appeared on the political map of the world. …

Keywords: crisis of world capitalism, the collective West, “investment air,” “blank slate,” Washington’s Russophobia

THE CRISIS of the current model of capitalism is becoming especially stark against the backdrop of growing military and political tension in the world in which the use of military force has become a de facto legalized tool of interstate competition. The world is clearly entering a period of geoeconomics that relies on the use of force, while at the same time maintaining the classical agenda of late-stage globalization. …

Keywords: NATO, space, operational domain, militarization, warfare

NATO’s military expansion knows no bounds. After claiming that their military and political interests extend practically all over the globe and that they have a right to military action anywhere in the world they like, the leading member countries of the North Atlantic alliance have set out to establish military and technological supremacy in outer space. …

Keywords: information and communication technologies (ICTs), health care, critical information infrastructure (CII), COVID-19, pandemic. Open-ended Working Group (OEWG)

IN MARCH 2021, most UN member states recognized the special importance of protecting health care infrastructure from cyber threats. A point to that effect was included in the final report¹ of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security, a negotiation format launched in 2018 on Russia’s initiative. The report reflects progress achieved at the UN and in other formats during more than two decades of debate on cybersecurity and information security in general,² but it was the first UN document to include a separate section on the health care aspect of international information security. The fact that the report was passed by a consensus vote is an indication of the importance of this issue. …

Keywords: international information law (IIL), information and communication technologies (ICT), emerging branch of international law. international information security law

THE SITUATION in the information space is currently deteriorating – in fact, it is in a state of complete chaos. In this regard, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cooperation on Information Security Andrey Krutskikh has rightly noted that there is an emergent need to create a certain set of “traffic rules” – i.e., a code of conduct in the international information sphere. International law is expected to play a regulating role in international relations. The issue of its applicability has been on the agenda of specialized UN agencies for more than a decade, starting with the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) and the UN Open-ended Working Group (both groups completed their work last year), as well as the UN Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security 2021-2025, created on Russia’s initiative. The mandate of this group reflects the applicability of international law on the basis of UN General Assembly Resolution 75/240.¹ …

Keywords: Donbass, Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), southeastern Ukraine

International Affairs: Vladislav Nikolayevich [Deinego], Russia has recognized the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) as sovereign states, and diplomatic relations have been established between our countries. The first negotiations at the level of foreign ministers have already been held between the Russian Federation and the LPR. What was discussed at that meeting? …

Keywords: Ukraine, politics of memory, state, Euromaidan, system of memory

THE POLITICS OF MEMORY is a necessary and very important tool used in shaping statehood, consolidating society around a set of state-forming ideas and interpretations. In practice, these are activities by the state and other interested parties to manipulate social groups by adjusting or changing their values and their images of the past. The symbols that are employed to this end are signs that are clear and easily recognizable within social subgroups, and that embody certain values/qualities, standards of behavior, or goals. …

Keywords: special military operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine, LPR, DPR, Memorial: We Will Not Forget! We Will Not Forgive!, Gunned-Down Childhood in Donbass

WITH each passing day of the special military operation of the Russian Army and the people’s militias of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), more evidence comes to light of genocide in Donbass committed by Ukrainian troops and of inhumane treatment of LPR and DPR civilians by [Ukrainian] nationalist volunteer battalions in the traditions of Nazi concentration camps. The picture of a war without rules and in complete disregard for international law that Ukraine was waging against some of its citizens is constantly acquiring new details: chemical waste burial sites near the Seversky Donets River showing that Ukraine used chemical weapons against part of its own population; US-financed military biological laboratories that, among other things, were developing biological weapons against the Slavic genotype; torture chambers of the Aydar and Tornado Ukrainian volunteer battalions …

Keywords: Russia’s special military operation, Factiva, Internet, media storm, media trends

RUSSIA’S special military operation in Ukraine has generated an enormous surge of activity in the world media. Such a reaction was quite expected; this sort of phenomena occur from time to time. In scholarly literature, they are put in the more general category of media trends – a category involving studies of changes in the nature of media content on a certain topic within a specific period.¹ This article examines reactions in the global online media to Russia’s special operation and developments related to it. Our conclusions were based on how frequently Russia and Ukraine were mentioned in various segments of the Internet in February and March. …

Keywords: African continent, struggle for independence, South Africa, apartheid regime, state and interregional ties, cooperation in combating the pandemic

FEBRUARY 28, 2022 marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Africa. Over the years, relations between our countries have reached the level of strategic partnership. More than 80 bilateral documents on cooperation in various fields have been signed. Several intergovernmental mechanisms have been established and are currently functioning. Trust-based political dialogue has been established at the highest levels that is stimulating further progress in cooperation. …

Keywords: Tajikistan, Russia, 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations

THE YEAR 2022 is a momentous one for the Republic of Tajikistan and the Russian Federation: On April 8, our countries marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. …

Keywords: coronavirus, India, QUAD, China, rivalry, US, Afghanistan, Russia

INDIA traditionally sets high expectations for its diplomacy. This is to be expected in the country of Chanakya and Jawaharlal Nehru, and it is very encouraging. After all, throughout its 75 years of independence, India has been a significant actor in world affairs, supporting peace and cooperation. To Russia, India is a friend with whom there have never been quarrels, many of our key interests overlap, and significant mutual understanding has been achieved. …

Keywords: Macron, reforms of the president, the EU Council, AUKUS, Russia-France relations, La République En Marche (LREM)

Outcomes of Macron Presidency …

Keywords: US missile defense policy, US Congress, military-industrial complex, research institutes (foundations), missile defense programs, pressure groups

AN INFLUENTIAL group of supporters has formed around expensive military projects, including missile defense projects. This group actively promotes the interests of both individual manufacturers and the program as a whole. The fact that information on US military policy is openly accessible to legislative and executive authorities, research centers, and the media reduces the power of unilateral lobbying in the interests of the military-industrial complex and individual state agencies. …

Keywords: Council of Europe (CoE), European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), human rights and democracy issues, NGOs, “divorce” of Moscow and Strasbourg

TWENTY-FIVE years after Russia joined the Council of Europe (CoE). Moscow’s relations with this organization, which had long been in a serious crisis, came to an end. First, our country’s participation in the key bodies of the CoE – the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) – was imperatively terminated. Then, according to a new, hastily implemented procedure, Russia was fully excluded from the Council, although by that time the Russian Foreign Ministry had already announced its decision to withdraw from the organization by the end of the year. The exclusion was done defiantly, even mockingly. The story of Russia’s turbulent and often tense interaction with the CoE has reached its sad, albeit logical conclusion. …

Keywords: European Union, legal status, integration, international intergovernmental organization, international law, “soft confederation”

INTEGRATION processes that are actively unfolding in the modern world cover a variety of areas of state activity. The most important role in stimulating these processes is played by international organizations, which act not only as an organizing principle, but also in a certain territorial form, facilitating the unification of the economic, political, and cultural potential of member states. One such interstate formation, widely known in the world and the most advanced in terms of integration, is the European Union (EU). …

Keywords: confrontation between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Gulf Cooperation Council, Qatar diplomatic crisis, regional hegemony, regional differences, system of regional relations, Muslim Brotherhood, Al Jazeera

THE PARADIGM of international relations in the Persian Gulf in the 20th century was determined by the interests of major players: the US, Great Britain, the USSR, etc. At the same time, relations between the oil-producing monarchies of the region, for all their complexity and ambiguity, remained in the background. After the creation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the early 1980s, opportunities emerged for a serious integration process that could lead to the creation of a single economic space with a single currency and common governance structures. However, for a number of reasons – among which we will identify economic ones (similarity in export structure), dynastic ones (ambitions of the ruling families), and geopolitical ones (the desire of the US as the world hegemon to rule according to the “divide and rule” policy known since antiquity) – centripetal trends have given way to centrifugal ones. Moreover, the second decade of the 21st century as a whole was marked by the gradual departure of the main global player, the US, from the traditional doctrine of firm control to using “controlled chaos” tools to give regional players the opportunity to realize their own political ambitions, while the US mainly focused on protecting its key military, political, and economic interests. …

Keywords: oil, gas, LNG, coal industry, Russian energy industry

International Affairs: Yuri Konstantinovich [Shafranik], oil prices are currently rising. Admittedly, forecasting is often a thankless task, but how long do you think this upward trend in oil prices will continue? …

Keywords: FAO, SDG 2, 2030 Agenda, FAO Liaison Office in Moscow

International Affairs: Looking back on the past difficult year, what has been the Food and Agricultural Organization’s main concern regarding the agri-food sector? After all, the well-being and health of billions of people and the achievement of the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 2) – Zero Hunger – depend on this sector of the economy. …

Keywords: Rogachev, Soviet-Chinese relations, three obstacles, negotiations on territorial disputes, normalization, Russian-Chinese relations, strategic partnership

IT SOMETIMES happens that history itself evaluates what a specific individual has done. A case in point is Igor Rogachev, a renowned Soviet and Russian diplomat who played a tremendous role in bolstering our country’s positions in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) and in reforming the former Soviet Union’s, and subsequently Russia’s, relations with China, where he served as the ambassador of the Russian Federation for 13 years. …

Keywords: Averell Harriman, Lend-Lease, Second Front, 1941 Moscow Conference

EVERYBODY at some point gets a chance to prove their mettle. This is not a stroke of luck, but a tough challenge and difficult choice for everyone at their own level: in wisdom or simplicity, strength or weakness, health or infirmity, wealth or poverty – to choose to follow the straight and familiar path or to scale new heights. Only those who rise to the challenge leave their mark in history. William Averell Harriman was one such person: He sought out challenges and accepted them with boldness and determination. He never retreated from or skirted them. …

Keywords: Afghanistan, Soviet-Afghan relations, the border issue

THE NADER dynasty that had ascended the throne of Afghanistan in 1929 was guided by the behests of emir Abdur Rahman Khan, who had fought for international recognition of his country’s sovereignty and called on those who shared his views to develop relations with states that had no common border with Afghanistan. In particular, shortly before his death, he wrote: “If concessions to foreigners are recognized as absolutely necessary and wise, these concessions should be given in small parts to the nations whose countries have no common borders with our possessions – for example, the Americans, Germans, Italians, etc. In the same way, if our government needs a great number of specialists, engineers, etc., to my mind, they should be chosen, as I have said, from among the nations mentioned above.”¹ He was convinced that Afghanistan should base its relations with neighbors on the principles of equidistance. …

Keywords: Red Army, World War II, burial sites, monument, memorial policy, Yugoslavia, USSR, liberation

AFTER the end of the Jassy-Chisinau operation that liberated Romania and Bulgaria in September 1944, Red Army units reached the border of the former Yugoslavia. On September 28, a major offensive began that resulted in the liberation of Belgrade on October 20. The offensive was followed by military operations to cross the Danube River and take and hold the bridgehead, known as the Battle of Batina (the biggest battle in Yugoslavia during World War II), and then battles on the Syrmian Front, which was broken in April 1945. …

Keywords: Natalya Beglova, Russia, Switzerland

NATALYA BEGLOVA’S new book How the Swiss Paradise Myth Was Born [in Russian]* has an intriguing title. Myth? Paradise? The answer comes on the first few pages: Beglova explains why Switzerland came to be thought of as a fantasyland. She set out to trace the history of idealizations of Switzerland – perceptions that took shape in the late 18th century and have, with minor changes, survived to the present day. Switzerland has the image of a land of scenic natural beauty and an ideal social system, a country whose people have harmonious personalities and live happily in union with nature and God. …

Keywords: consular service, law, privileges, notarial acts, visa, consular registration, consular legalization, memorial work, readmission, compatriots, information technologies, international passport

THE CONSULAR service of the Russian Federation is an integral part of diplomatic work. Today, Russia’s consular service requires consular officers of all ranks to demonstrate a high level of competence in law, technical knowledge, business etiquette, and the ability to communicate with all categories of visitors. …

Keywords: Soviet Russia, international relations, international conferences

THE INTERWAR PERIOD was one of the most significant periods for the foreign policy of the young Soviet state. After the end of World War I and the Civil War, as well as after the foreign intervention, the Soviet republic was going through what was probably one of the most difficult periods in its history. After all, it had found itself in de facto isolation and nonrecognition by other countries. Gradually, the situation started to change. First, the Soviet Union received diplomatic recognition, and then it was admitted to the League of Nations and asserted itself on the world stage. The Soviet Union’s participation in major international conferences held under the auspices of the League of Nations played a crucial role in that progress. The book The Soviet State at International Forums of the 1920s and 1930s [in Russian]* by Irina Aleksandrovna Khormach, a well-known Russian historian specializing in Soviet foreign policy and international relations, Doctor of Science (History), is devoted to that key narrative in the history of international relations in the 1920s and 1930s. …

Keywords: special military operation in Ukraine, Russia and NATO. East European countries

THE CRISIS in Ukraine and negotiations on the European security situation that preceded it prompted many diplomats, analysts, and ordinary observers both in Russia and in the West to revisit the history of the issue. Russian President Vladimir Putin has noted more than once¹ that the problem that resulted in the special military operation in Ukraine did not arise overnight, as some Western state officials are trying to present it. Tensions have been accumulating not just for years, but for decades. The conflict observed today is a direct consequence, first of all, of the inability of the American leadership to learn to listen to the Russian side and respect its concerns and to give up its ideas of the messianic nature of US foreign policy. …

Keywords: international information security (IIS), information and communication technology (ICT), Group of Governmental Experts (GGE), Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG)

THE SURVEY International Information Security: Russia’s Approaches [in Russian],* published in 2021 by a team of authors of the Center for International Information Security and Science and Technology Policy at the Moscow State Institute (University) of International Relations of the Russian Foreign Ministry, is a comprehensive and outstanding academic study and a successful attempt to research and systematize the logic of the almost 25-year international political process of building the security contours of information and communication technology (ICT). …