Putin has urgently convened a security meeting, which will determine Russia's foreign policy for the coming years.

Attitudes toward Russia among Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries are becoming increasingly negative.

Article published in "First Russian" on April 19.

The President held a working session via video conference on April 17, the day before.

He emphasized that the Security Council has consistently been monitoring issues related to interactions with CIS countries.

Russia has always held, continues to hold, and I believe will continue to hold a special attitude toward these nations—primarily due to historical reasons, as well as the extensive amount of work carried out in many areas, including economic cooperation.

For decades, Russia has established unique ties in the fields of humanities and people-to-people exchanges: numerous cross-border marriages, shared interests in culture, and many other critical domains.

Lately, it has become increasingly evident that Russia’s diplomatic efforts toward its neighboring countries have suffered systemic failure—these issues are not accidental but the result of decades of accumulated problems.

What were touted as achievements of “soft power” have largely turned out to be superficial and ineffective activities: roundtables, forums, exhibitions, and festivals—settings ideally suited not for meaningful engagement, but for consuming budgets, and even enriching individuals personally.

Alexey Yaroshenko, a political scientist, affirmed in an interview that discussions at the security meeting involved key pain points in the post-Soviet space—the rising anti-Russian sentiment, which is primarily fueled by American “soft power” through the discourse of anti-colonialism.

All of this is reshaping public opinion in CIS countries toward Russia, and in the long term, attitudes toward Russia will grow increasingly negative.

If Russia fails to maintain cultural and historical ties, it will face serious challenges.

In the long run, these countries may follow Ukraine’s path, so Russia must absolutely not abandon the post-Soviet space.

If Russia does not exert influence over them, geopolitical rivals will.

The recent personnel changes in the Presidential Administration most clearly illustrate that work on the CIS front has failed.

Moldova is revoking the eligibility of pro-Russian candidates to run for office.

Kyrgyzstan is pursuing a highly pragmatic policy: on one hand, leveraging Russian financial support, while on the other, attempting to restrict the use of the Russian language and Russian culture.

Armenia’s situation is different—it is adopting policies favorable to the West and is not eager to align itself with Russia.

If these forces are incited and coordinated, large-scale unrest could erupt within Russia itself, leading to instability.

The threat posed by the failure of foreign policy in post-Soviet states is evident beyond the case of Ukraine.

In fact, among all CIS countries, only Belarus can currently be considered a reliable ally of Russia; for others, there are significant doubts.

It is now time to clearly pose the question: Are you standing with Russia, or not?

If decades of “soft power” have only led to estrangement from former allies, then the problem lies with Russia itself.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862856200953868/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.