title: Russian Foreign Policy Management and Manipulation with the Soviet Successor States
abstract: Russia has been anxious to maintain its influence with the other successor states of the Soviet Union (the Near Abroad). It used a variety of methods, both overt and covert, to further its foreign policy objectives with these countries. Moscow has relied on traditional economic statecraft including trade manipulation, free trade arrangements, and currency linkages as well as ethnic appeals and propaganda/news manipulation to influence foreign audiences. In addition, Russia has used clandestine o