“Sham partnership” or “hidden competition”? The Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Central Asian region

: Recent years the growing confrontation between the Russian Federation, the United States, and the EU is accompanied by Moscow’s searching the alternative allies for its diplomatic support. Iran is called one of such allies today. The Russian-Iranian relations are interesting both in terms of sectoral and geographical fields. The region of Central Asia is of particular importance. The need to consider such aspects is explained by the strengthening of Iran’s position in Central Asia as a direct zone of Russian interests in a sense of its economic, cultural, and religious presence. The author is going to study the Russian Iranian cooperation exclusively in the Central Asia region. The need to consider such aspects is explained by the strengthening of Iran’s position in Central Asia through the intensification of its economic, cultural, and religious influence. The main issue of scientific consideration for the author is the problem of forming a strategic alliance between Russia and Iran. The author asserts that the bilateral cooperation between Russia and Iran can be described as a “sham partnership” or “hidden competition” in the Central Asia region.The author examines the balance of interests between Russia and Iran exclusively in the Central Asia region as an area where both countries intend to expand or maintain their influence. Here we outline four regional nodes which are of mutual concern to both sides. The first node is regional security. The second node is the settlement of territorial disputes for fruitful coope-1 ration in the Caspian Sea. The third node is the economic and energy policy. The fourth one is the overlapping of cultural influence in the region. The four cooperative areas (regional security, border issues, economic and energy field, as well as cultural influence) demonstrate the broad segment of tensions and contradictions between Russia and Iran in the Central Asia region.