MESOP LOOKING EAST : RUSSIA WILL BECOME THE THIRD ROME ?

8 Jan 2017 – Russian Pro-Kremlin Intellectual Fyodor Lukyanov: ‘The Model Of An Open And Comprehensive World Order, With The United States… At The Helm, Is Becoming A Thing Of The Past’ 

In a recent article, Russian public intellectual Fyodor Lukyanov summed up the major international events of 2016 and tried to make sense of them. According to Lukyanov, Brexit and Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential elections were symptomatic of a changing world order changing. Lukyanov explained: “The post-Cold-War thrust towards [the U.S.] global dominance was so violent, and so rapid by historical standards, that it has now resulted in the current recoil.” Now this unipolar model of world order, with the U.S. at the helm, is becoming a “thing of the past,” to be replaced by the “much coveted” multipolar world that Russia has fought for.

Lukyanov explained that the restored multipolar world has been facilitated by “foolish steps and mistakes” that were part of U.S. and European policies and by Europe’s political-economic crisis. This new global environment provides Russia with “a chance to take independent steps that would not come as reactions to Western stimulae.”Instead of merely parrying American moves Russia could “start offering the world something of our own devising”. It is worth remembering that in czarist times Russia regarded itself as the “Third Rome” and of course under the Soviet Union it believed that Russia could offer the world something unique and beneficial. This was not naïve altruism argues Lukyanov “Caught in the frenzy of realpolitik, we have long ago forgotten that at the end of the day, history is made by those who rely on such notions. By the way, doing so normally makes one better at protecting one’s own interests too.”

Below are excerpts of Lukyanov’s article:

‘The Post-Cold-War Thrust Towards Global Dominance Was So Violent… That It Has Now Resulted In The Current Recoil’

“It might be too early to sum up the international events of the outgoing year just yet, but everything that was meant to happen already has, and the principal consequences are evident. The global system is entering a new phase of development. Neither the outcome of the Brexit referendum in June nor Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election in November was a factor behind these changes; both events were merely symptoms, albeit very illustrative ones.

“The model of an open and comprehensive world order, with the United States and its allies at the helm, is becoming a thing of the past. The leading countries’ ruling classes are being forced by their own citizens to shift their attention to domestic affairs, while their plans for outward expansion, be it political, economic, or ideological, are being put on the back burner. This expansion is unlikely to come to a complete halt, but the post-Cold-War thrust towards global dominance was so violent, and so rapid by historical standards, that it has now resulted in the current recoil.” Read full report https://www.memri.org/reports/russian-pro-kremlin-intellectual-fyodor-lukyanov-model-open-and-comprehensive-world-order