Escalating conflict in Ukraine, the Western-backed government and separatists backed by Russia, raises a fundamental question: what are the long term aspirations of the Kremlin? While the objective of Russian President Vladimir Putin was the first phase in a limited control over the Crimea and the preservation of a certain influence on Ukrainian business, long-term ambition is shown to be more courageous.
This ambition is increasingly evident. In a famous statement, Putin said that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest catastrophe of the twentieth century. Thus, his goal is to rebuild long-term entity, in one form or another by means of a supranational union consisting of Member States, like the European Union.
Great Eurasian Economic Union
A suction least surprising: whatever the problem its decline, Russia is considered a great power surrounded by buffer states. Between countries, Russia Imperial was able to expand. During Bolshevik Russia came to build the Soviet Union created a sphere of influence which included much of Central and Eastern Europe. And behold, from now on, under the equally autocratic Putin, Russia is trying to establish progressively a large Eurasian Economic Union (UEE).
Nouriel Roubini is an American professor of Economics at New York University`s Stern School of Business and chairman of RGE Roubini Global Economics
