The tasks of the Russian Heartland to the East

06.08.2024

In the overall geopolitical strategy of Russia as a Heartland, the objectives towards the East, two fundamental directions of expansion and already considered as central in the country’s diplomatic, military and geo-economic strategies, deserve singular attention.

Some points more about the Southern perspective

Regarding the southern direction of the consolidation process, and consequently the prerequisites for the establishment of a multipolar world, we must consider also the follows:

– first of all, defeating the United States in the Central Asian space without entering into a confrontation
direct confrontation, preventing it from implementing the Great Middle East project;

– create a powerful strategic structure along the Moscow-Tehran axis, up to the integration
political-military integration and the deployment of reciprocal military structures on the
territory of both countries;

– seek to get as close as possible as close as possible to Turkey in its new geopolitical course towards
independence from American and globalist influence;

– continue with the reorganization of the Caspian region on a continentalist basis
(Eurasian and multipolar), also giving it a strategic-military connotation;

– prevent the creation of the Asian Rimland between Russia and Iran under U.S. control;

– integrate Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan into a single economic and customs area;

– develop a new format of relations with Pakistan, taking into account the transformation
of its politics;

– propose a new architecture for Afghanistan and contribute to its liberation
from American and NATO occupation.

Under the dynamic leadership of newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iran-Russia bond is poised for substantial strengthening. Building on the solid foundation laid by the late President Ebrahim Raisi, the new administration is committed to deepening this strategic alliance. The renewed vigour in diplomatic relations not only promises to strengthen economic and political ties, but also signals a continued trajectory of successful collaboration and mutual support on the global stage. As both nations navigate the complexities of international affairs, their partnership is set to become a central force in shaping regional stability and global geopolitics.

The other central issue remains the strengthening of the SCO, which at the Astana summit, entitled ‘Strengthening Multilateral Dialogue: Striving for Sustainable Peace and Development’, focused on the pressing challenges of international and regional issues, emphasizing the urgency of regional security and cooperation structures, without which the countries of Eurasia will be condemned to a long series of mutual conflicts. The apparent weakening of the United States as a world hegemon is evident in two glaring problems of our time: the disintegration of commodity supply chains and the growing number of conflicts along the perimeter of the Rimland countries, of which the SCO remains the main strategic factor. The Astana summit also discussed infrastructure development, energy, environment, health, tourism, education, digitization, transport and logistics, and led to the adoption of 25 documents in various fields and the signing of the SCO Development Strategy to 2035 and the SCO Energy Cooperation Development Strategy to 2030, both of which focus on strengthening the South Eurasian Heartland.

The importance of the Moscow-New Delhi Axis

Let us move eastwards: here we see India as a great space in its own right. During the era of the Great Game, India was the main springboard for British dominance in Asia: at that time, it was crucial for the thalassocratic hegemon to maintain control over India and prevent the very possibility that other powers (in primis the Russian Empire) could invade the territory under British control in this region. Also linked to this were the Afghan epics of the British, who repeatedly attempted to establish their control over the complex structure of the rebellious Afghan society precisely to block the Russians from a possible campaign in India.

India currently pursues a policy of strategic neutrality, but its society, culture religion and value system have nothing to do with the globalist project or the Western European way of life: Hindu society is completely continental, tellurocratic, based on constants that have changed rather insignificantly over the millennia. India in its parameters (demography, level of modern economic development, cultural integration) is a large space organically included in the multipolar structure. The relations Russian-Indian relations since India’s liberation from the British have been traditionally very warm; Indian rulers constantly emphasize their adherence to the multipolar model of the world order; Indian society itself proves to be an example of multipolarity, in which the diversity of ethnicities, cults local cultures, religious and philosophical movements coexist perfectly each other, with all their profound differences and even contradictions. India is, of course, a civilization that in the 21st century after the end of colonization, acquired for pragmatic reasons the status of a state nation.

Under these circumstances favorable to the multipolar project, which make the Moscow-New Delhi axis another supporting structure for the spatial expression of the pan-Eurasian Eurasian idea, there are a number of circumstances that make this process difficult. process: India, through historical inertia, continues to maintain close ties with the Anglo-Saxon world, which during the period of colonial rule managed to significantly influence Indian society, projecting onto its attitudes and formal sociological models (in particular, English-speaking); the country is closely integrated with the United States and the NATO in the military-technical field and the Atlanticist strategists highly value this cooperation, since it fits into the strategy of controlling the coastal area of Eurasia; the very mentality of Indian society rejects the logic of rigid aut/aut alternatives, and it is difficult for the Hindu consciousness to realize the necessity of an irreversible choice between the Sea and the Land, between globalization and the preservation of their identity and civilization. However, at the regional level, in relations with its neighbors (mainly China and Pakistan), Indian geopolitical thinking works much more adequately and this should be exploited to bring India into the multipolar structure of the new Eurasian strategic architecture.

The natural place of India is in the Eurasian space, where it could play a role strategic role comparable to Iran, although the format for building of the Moscow-New Delhi axis will have to be completely different, taking into account the specificities of India’s regional strategy and culture.

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