Anti-communism as a factor in shaping the foreign policy of the Russian Federation in 1991–1992

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to consider the anti-communist component in the foreign policy of the Russian Federation during the first post-Soviet years. Based on the material of the socio-political periodicals of that time and the documents of the archive of the Presidential Center of Boris Yeltsin, the influence of the struggle against the threat of communist revenge inside the country on the foreign policy of the state is traced. The paper examines the international reaction to the persecution of the Communist Party in Russia and attempts to use this event to promote foreign policy interests. The specific steps of the Russian leadership in the fight against the international communist movement and the assessment of this activity by contemporaries are considered. Various conceptual approaches to overcoming the Soviet in the field of international relations, which were formulated in Russia at that time, are highlighted. The main directions of using anti-communist rhetoric in building relations with a number of states, successes and failures in this direction are outlined. The conclusion is made about the preservation of the ideological component in the Russian foreign policy of the first post-Soviet years, despite the declarations on the de-ideologization of this sphere. It is noted that the anti-communism of the new government has not always been an effective tool in achieving foreign policy goals and has not always found a positive assessment even in Western countries.