The full article titled "Quasi-Internal Armed Conflicts as a Tool of Geopolitics: Russia’s armed forces in Moldova, Chechnya, and Syria" was published in the Summer 2023 (Issue#30) issue of the Line of Defence Magazine (pages 34-39).
LoD Editor: "Taking an historical perspective, [...] the 2022 invasion of Ukraine is a recent example of Ruscism-fuelled expansionism, and that the international community’s failure to notice the pattern established by Russia in previous conflicts has set a dangerous precedent."
Abstract
This article reassesses three armed conflicts conventionally classified as internal, which became key milestones in the re-emergence and strengthening of Russian imperialism, climaxing today in the ongoing invasion of the sovereign neighbouring state – Ukraine. It argues that the Transnistrian War in Moldova (1990-92), two Russian Chechen Wars (1994-96 and 1999-2009), and the Syrian civil war (2011 – present) are examples of the Kremlin’s applied expansionist political strategy, disguised as either peacekeeping or counter-terrorist efforts, aiming at exporting its military presence and regaining global ‘great power’ status. The international community is blamed for the lack of political will to notice and react effectively to the rising hostility and aggressiveness of the international stance and radical ideology of the Russian Federation and for a continuous appeasement to the point when Moscow became reassured in its impunity and the right to coerce other nations to its will disregarding any international law. It reveals links between the three conflicts and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and highlights how the politics conducted by the Russian Federation is a global threat.
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