초록 열기/닫기 버튼
One of the most distinguished features in Putin’s foreign policy during his third term is ‘New Eastern Policy (NEP)’ or Russia’s pivot to the Asia-Pacific region. Basically, the NEP is designed to promote development in Siberia and the Russian Far East (RFE), the most backward and isolated regions in the country. To this end, Moscow attempts to strengthen ties with Asian countries. This paper analyzes background factors against which the New Eastern Policy has been launched, pointing to intellectual origins including Eurasianism, economic interests, geopolitical factors, and domestic factors. Then actual policies toward development of Siberia and RFE including long and mid-term development programs for this region and cooperative relations with China, Japan and Korea are scrutinized. In Northeast Asia, Moscow on the one hand has reinforced cooperative relations with China to counter-balance the U.S. in the region; on the other hand, it has been trying to develop friendly relations with Japan, South and North Korea for fear that it will be overshadowed by its giant neighbor China, a would-be superpower. The NEP for now seems to be a two-faced phenomenon; genuine changes in policy orientation and/or just rhetoric. On the one hand, since the Putin government has repeatedly stressed the importance of the NEP with some visible actions including the establishment of the Far East and Baikal Region Development Fund, it is likely to get momentum as time passes. Yet, given that the NEP lacks in concrete implementation plan and sufficient financial resources with mounting obstacles to a favorable climate for massive investment from within and without, its feasibility is still uncertain. Therefore the success of the NEP remains to be seen for the coming years.
키워드열기/닫기 버튼
Siberia, Russian Far East, Putin, New Eastern Policy, Northeast Asia
