The enduring nature of Vladimir Putin’s power in Russia and of his methods of government, both internally and in respect of the former republics of the Soviet Union and its erstwhile satellite states, regularly brings up the question of whether the Russian federation is a country other people may properly do business with. After a period of some tension between Russia on the one hand and Europe and the USA on the other, there would seem to be signs of an easing in the relations between the two former Cold-War blocs, as Jean-François Drevet shows in this column.
There remains, quite evidently, a great degree of economic pragmatism in Europe’s diplomatic stance towards Russia, but, on the other hand, Russia is no longer necessarily what it once was, and this perhaps is what offers new prospects for its potentially becoming an acceptable partner once again.
