Markedonov: Russia is Caucasian power, and therefore it will have  long-lasting and serious presence in Caucasus

ArmInfo.. Russia is a Caucasian power, and therefore it will have a long-lasting and serious presence in the Caucasus. Sergey Markedonov, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Leading Researcher at the Center for Euro-Atlantic Security at the  Institute for International Studies of the Moscow State Institute of  International Relations of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said this at  the conference: "Diplomacy - Alpha: Challenges of the Present and the  Vision of the Future" in Yerevan.

According to the expert, if we talk about Russia from the point of  view of the post-Soviet space and especially the Caucasus, then we  should not forget that these regions to some extent have a  constitutive influence on the post-Soviet Russia. Markedonov  conditioned this by the fact that Russia, without the Soviet Union,  is trying to position itself in new realities and its identity is  largely connected with rethinking, parting with the Soviet period.

At the same time, he expressed his conviction that the collapse of  the USSR can formally be considered complete, but not historically,  because the answers to the questions about who owns Crimea, Nagorno-  Karabakh and Abkhazia are not even two, but countless. Markednov  emphasized that if the issue of statuses is not resolved, then the  disintegration process is not over, because the agenda of the Russian  Federation is still focused on the past, as it cannot be considered  resolved yet.

"And in some year, some body decided that Abkhazia would be part of  Georgia, some kind of Caucasian b ureau, where is the Caucasian  bureau? Someone decided that Karabakh should be part of Azerbaijan,  but they could have made another decision as well . But we are still  in this process, this process is still ongoing, and it is important  for Russia," the political scientist emphasized.

At the same time, Markedonov urged not to forget that Russia itself  is a Caucasian power. "The Caucasian dimension is extremely  important, the population of Dagestan alone is 3 million, the number  equal to that of Armenia. Naturally, what is happening in the South  Caucasus continues in the North Caucasus, and it is impossible to  separate. And this is not a matter of imperial reflection, nor the  restoration of some phantom positions," Markedonov says.

In this vein, he recalled that during the 5-day war in August 2008  there was a threat of escalating the Ossetian-Ingush conflict, which  seemed to have extinguished, the echoes of the consequences of the  4-day and 44-day wars in Nagorno-Karabakh inside Russia, at least  taking into account the large Armenian and Azerbaijani Diasporas.  According to him, he himself grew up in Rostov-on-Don, and he does  not need to be explained what significance New Nakhichevan has for  Armenians, or Derbent for Azerbaijanis.

"Therefore, the situation in the Caucasus is not about how to  construct imperialism, democracy or something else. It is about how  to help ensure internal stability by solving the problem in the  neighborhood.  Any neighborhood is a priority for any country. The  neighborhood needs stability," the expert emphasized.

Regarding the rumors that Russia is leaving the Caucasus, the Russian  political scientist stressed that Moscow can reduce the  prioritization of the Caucasus, reduce its activity, directly and  honestly formulate or not formulate its interests, or remain silent,  but it is not going to leave it.  .  He also stressed that the South  Caucasus is of vital, system-forming importance for Russia. "Russia  can clumsily formulate its interests, it  can reduce its priority,  but it is not going to leave the South Caucasus.  The post-Soviet  space and the Caucasus are system-forming and constitutive factors,"  the political scientist summed up