Russian-Venezuelan Relations at a Crossroads
Russia鈥檚 foreign policy is part of a complex tapestry intended to bolster its current president, Vladimir Putin. Moscow鈥檚 relations with Venezuela are a prime example of this strategy and demonstrate Putin鈥檚 global ambitions to recruit geographically distant nations as partners in constructing a new multipolar, anti-U.S. world order.
Nonetheless, Russia's relationship with Venezuela is also a story of missed business opportunities, multimillion dollar risky investments, dubious personal enrichment, and vast corruption.
The evidence suggests that Venezuela has become a kind of a 鈥渟uitcase without a handle for Putin: hard to carry but difficult to throw away.鈥 While Venezuela may no longer be as useful as a political symbol of restored Russian greatness, Moscow cannot afford for Venezuela to turn into a symbol of one of Putin鈥檚 greatest failures in the international arena. Russia must balance its important economic investments and assets in Venezuela, such as the ones owned by Rosneft, against its international reputation as an important actor capable of exercising influence in Latin America.
In a new report, Vladimir Rouvinski outlines Russia's changing priorities in Venezuela, from its 鈥渞eturn鈥 to Latin America toward the end of the 1990s in search of new markets, to its eventual prioritization of political benefits over commercial profits in the country, to the risks it would face were a power transition to take place in the increasingly unstable South American nation.
Author
Director, Center for Inter-Disciplinary Studies, Icesi University, Cali, Colombia
Latin America Program
浪花直播鈥檚 prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the 浪花直播 Center鈥檚 strength as the nation鈥檚 key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
Kennan Institute
The Kennan Institute is the premier US center for advanced research on Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow 浪花直播 International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Institute is committed to improving American understanding of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and the surrounding region through research and exchange. Read more
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