The world is changing, there is a political and economic reorientation of the interests of many countries neighboring Russia. Russia itself is also changing. All this greatly affects Russia's relations with its former partners. In other words, many of Russia's historical allies are now difficult to call her well-wishers. This means that Russia itself has to reorient itself in building cooperation with other countries.
Russia and the post-Soviet space
Obviously, all the former republics of the USSR are still located in the "Russian field". This means that the majority of the population was brought up in Soviet culture, which means that they say, they think in Russian. At the same time, the attitude of the inhabitants of these republics towards Russia cannot be called unambiguously loyal.
Of all the former republics of the USSR, only Kazakhstan and Belarus link their development to 100% with Russia. But even these countries are looking at their interaction with Russia within the framework of the Eurasian Union as their sovereign members.
In addition, nationalist sentiments are strong in Kazakhstan and Belarus.
The countries of South Ossetia, Transnistria and Abkhazia that are not recognized by the international community are also largely dependent on Russia and are interested in cooperation. Very important for the development of Russia is Ukraine, relations with which over the years only worsen and escalate to a critical point. After the well-known events on the Maidan in the winter of 2013-2014, the fall of the Yanukovych regime (a politician who built relations with Russia, although restrained, but pragmatic in nature), military operations in southeastern Ukraine, the situation completely got out of control. There is no need to talk about Ukraine’s joining the Eurasian Union either now or in the near future.
Baltic countries
It is impossible to talk about good neighborly relations with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Currently, the countries are members of the North Atlantic Treaty, they conduct NATO military exercises on their territory, although the republics themselves do not pose a military threat.
The historical allies of Russia in the Islamic world
Russia is actively developing cooperation with Syria and Iran. Opposition to the West, as well as to the Gulf countries, unites these countries with Russia. Syria is a strategic partner of Russia, as provides her with a military presence in the Mediterranean. Cooperation with Iran may be carried out in the field of railway construction, space exploration, and in the field of peaceful atom, as Iran itself is interested in these programs.
