How Dangerous is Russia?

When I am in the U.S. thoughts of Russia are generally not part of my daily routine. The political and cultural aspects of America seem to be almost all-consuming and it is easy to fall into a form of isolationism.

When an international concerns arises it tends to be in conjunction with China and falls into the economic sphere-either currency manipulation or some form of interaction with the U.S. such as "they're taking our jobs".

In Europe however, and especially on the continent, the geopolitics of Russia are much more overt given the history of region be it the recent or the more distant past.

It is therefore much more disturbing to hear Russian President Medvedev call for a new European Security Framework. Couched in terms of introducing Russia as a security partner for Europe, Mr Medvedev was actually making subtle threats to Central Eastern Europeans who are grasping on to the NATO framework to protect them from Russia.

It is a clever move. What better way to insure against a Russian-European conflict then to bind the two blocs together in a unified military structure. I have my doubts as to the sincerity of the intention however. The history of Russian-European treaties is not a pleasant one.

Russia recognises that the U.S. is relatively stretched with two wars, a recession and an unsettled political environment. It has taken this opportunity to reassert itself in the former soviet republics of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. They have been applying constant pressure to the Baltic States, have essentially engineered a Russian victory in the Ukraine and even resorted to military means in Georgia.

Now they have shifted their focus even further West, offering to help keep the peace in Central Europe, while they themselves are the biggest threat. It is perhaps telling of their real intentions that the case in point that they suggested as an example of where they could assist is in Cyprus.

Russia and Turkey have a long history of trying to assert dominance over the region. I see their offer to help in the eastern Mediterranean to be a continuation of this conflict. Greece and Turkey-who have conflicting claims on Cyprus are both members of NATO and Russia would want nothing more than to have a say in the solution to the problem, excluding the U.S.

This move bears constant scrutiny.