The rapid influence of West Asia in Russia’s foreign policy and the Kremlin’s measures to adapt to the new conditions

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, after the Russian attack on Ukraine And Moscow’s separation from the West, West Asia occupied more space in Russia’s politics and economy and became the country’s second most important partner after China. Trade with West Asian countries is growing rapidly and every day new transport corridors are being built through the Middle Eastern countries (West Asia) to Russia, hundreds of thousands of Russians with residence permits and local passports can be seen in the Middle East countries and the media And Russian social networks are actively and enthusiastically discussing Middle East conflicts. As the role of West Asia increases, Russia’s foreign policy will change and will lead to the adoption of Middle Eastern procedures in the Kremlin.

Second rank after China

Russia re-entered the West Asian arena several years ago, in 2015, when it started its military operations in Syria. Since then, Moscow has turned from a passive observer to an active participant in political processes in the Middle East region.

However, by 2022, West Asia will be only one of There were countless cases of Russian foreign policy. The war with Ukraine changed everything; Sanctions and separation from the West, which resulted from the Ukraine war, forced Russia to quickly look for alternative partners in various fields, and only a year later, West Asian countries became the most important for Moscow after China.

Among this, what was most impressive is the commercial and economic leap in relations with Turkey. Trade with Ankara will almost double to $70 billion in 2022. This issue becomes important when you know that the Russian Federation currently only has established wider trade relations with China. In addition, Turkey has become an essential partner for Russia in various fields. From the transit of passengers and cargo in the form of air travel to the import of advanced technologies.

Relations with Iran, which has become an important military ally for Russia, have changed qualitatively. This cooperation has taken a new form in economic fields, especially the completion of the North-South Corridor and cultural and social fields.

On the other hand, the importance of the United Arab Emirates for the Kremlin has greatly increased . Not only did the turnover between the two countries experience a 68% increase and reached 9 billion dollars, but this country became an important link in the chain of parallel imports of electronic equipment, mainly microchips, and also one of the main destinations of Russian citizens’ immigration and travel abroad. has become.

Relations with Saudi Arabia have gained new importance. Moscow is now coordinating its export strategies and approaches to conflicts and challenges in the Middle East with Riyadh. We should also mention Saudi Arabia’s macro-economic investments during the unprecedented western sanctions in Russia. Added Launching Soon to the list. For example, the North-South transportation corridor that reaches the Indian Ocean through Azerbaijan and Iran, or the creation of a gas hub in Turkey. Finally, we should consider Russia’s activities in Syria also mentioned. where Russia’s only military base outside the post-Soviet space is still located. Like it or not, Moscow will remain a direct participant in the resolution of the protracted Syrian conflict.

Which regions of West Asia?

Another new condition in Russia’s relations with West Asian countries is the emergence of a large Russian diaspora in the region. In 2022, Turkey and the UAE are among the top 10 tourist and immigration destinations for Russian citizens. Of course, there are no exact statistics on the number of Russians who have moved, but Turkey alone issued more than 150,000 residence permits to Russian citizens last year. Although it is said that in 2023 it will become much more difficult to obtain or renew a residence permit, the number of Russians in Turkey is still higher than in the pre-war years.

Also. In the UAE in 2022-2023, not only the number of Russian tourists and expatriates has increased significantly, but the number of companies registered by Russians has also seen significant growth due to the circumvention of EU sanctions and more open trade rules. Another important destination of Russians in West Asia was the occupied territories, where a total of more than 60,000 Jews of Russian descent returned to the occupied territories from the beginning of 2022 to the middle of 2023. Overall, the war in Ukraine has led to the migration of several hundred thousand Russians to live in the Middle East. It is not surprising that the Russian media more seriously discuss and analyze the conflicts in West Asia.

True, the war forced Moscow to change its approach to conflicts in the region. If the Kremlin previously sought to occupy an equal position with other powers in the West Asian region, now it seeks to obtain a superior position and a larger piece of the power pie in the region. After the start of the war in Ukraine, the relations between Russia and the Zionist regime were strained due to the positions of Tel Aviv and being on the pro-Western front, but after the start of the conflicts in Palestine, Moscow has increasingly aligned itself with the Islamic countries in this region. And this is not a coincidence considering the growing importance of the Islamic countries of the Middle East for Russia.

The results of this have shown themselves in the most unexpected and sometimes shocking way possible in the contemporary history of Russia. Gives. Where a crowd of demonstrators and protesters against the crimes of the Israeli regime in Gaza attacked the consulate of this regime in the Tatarstan region under anti-Israeli slogans or attacked the passengers of the Israeli plane with the slogan “Allahu Akbar” to show their disgust with the crimes of the regime. Usually, such images from West Asian countries are broadcast to the world media, but now, thanks to the anti-colonial and anti-Western positions of the Kremlin officials, we have witnessed such scenes from the Muslim lands of Russia in the North Caucasus.

Middle East influence

Abundant connections at different levels, the large Russian diaspora and the increasing regional role of Russia, all this makes mutual influences between Russia and West Asia inevitable. . The culture of this region in its broadest sense will inevitably penetrate Russia more than ever before.

In the 2000s, a stream of Russian tourists visiting Turkey and Egypt became familiar with hookah. They quickly appeared in restaurants all over Russia and now there is talk of a much bigger human displacement than people in the Middle East, which is much deeper than tourist visits. Therefore, these changes will not be limited to Arabic restaurants or oriental music.

Along with more contacts, the business culture and also the characteristics of the financial sector will also be transferred. Features such as the introduction and testing of “Islamic banking” methods, which will start working in Russia on September 1, 2023. Although the mechanisms of this plan have not been clearly defined yet, the important point at the moment is the symbolic aspect of Islamic banking in the financial structures of Russia. More importantly, how the negotiations are conducted, how the work hierarchy is determined, how controversial and challenging issues are resolved, the answer to all these questions will certainly be influenced by the direction of the Kremlin’s Middle East policy.

After the start of the Ukrainian war, contacts with West Asia not only among Russian emigrants and merchants, but also in It has also increased among officials. In other words, the impact of these meetings will be felt in the government institutions in the future.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia actively imitated Western, mainly European, methods in legal and bureaucratic structures. did But now it seems that the European model has completely disappeared and other models have replaced it. Authoritarian modernization in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar may be imitated in Russia as a desirable experience.

In the interaction of different societies, similar patterns apply at different levels, The more structures you interact with, the more they influence you. Russia’s sharp turn towards traditional values ​​is well visible here. Attitude towards family, religion, women’s role in society, etc., West Asia has many things to learn in the current situation, and on the other hand, the growing share of Muslims in Russian society, for various reasons, provides a more favorable context for borrowing from the realities of this region.

Finally, for Russian residents, the Middle East is also becoming a social elevator. If business and government have shifted from the West to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran, then young workers are also moving to these countries in search of foreign jobs. Demand drives supply, meaning Oriental studies will be available to those interested for years to come. Therefore, the new era can give talented Arab scholars, Iranian scholars, and Turk scholars to Russia.

Author: Mehdi Seif Tabrizi, a researcher in the field of Russia and the Caucasus

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