How is Russia pursuing its global economic interests?
There are many differences between Russia and the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union acted abroad, it normally spent its money, treasure—and sometimes lives—in pursuit of its global political and ideological interests. When Russia is acting beyond its borders, it is primarily looking for profit. In this respect, Russia is ultra-pragmatic in carrying out its global economic policies and has even stopped being a donor for some of its neighboring countries. One of the reasons—perhaps the primary reason—why Russia isn’t the center of some economic confederation of former Soviet states is that the Russian government doesn’t want to pay for it. In Europe, the European Union was actually built with German money and German subsidies—Germany was at the center of it. Russia doesn’t want to be at the center. Russia wants influence and assets in other countries, but it doesn’t want to pay for that. And sometimes Russia’s foreign economic adventures are questionable. Some dealings with Venezuela a
