Analysis of post-Soviet security dynamics and US-Russia rivalry
Sergei Naryshkin, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, has described a shift in the geopolitical landscape following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In his assessment, the United States began to call its partner an irrational actor and today stands as Russia’s most formidable geopolitical adversary. He frames the post-Soviet period as a time when Washington reasserted influence, while Moscow faced persistent pressure from a range of global actors who he says acted in concert against Russian interests.
Naryshkin contends that after the USSR’s collapse, what he calls a creeping campaign led by the United States mobilized various international actors to counter Russia. He notes that NATO drew closer to Russia’s borders, a development he attributes to a broader strategy of containment and influence rather than a simple shift in alliance structures. This narrative suggests that Western security guarantees and political expectations were renegotiated in ways that Moscow perceives as constraining its strategic autonomy.
In his description, the economic, scientific, military, and cultural sectors of Russia faced deliberate strain during the 1990s, while the political framework in the former Soviet republics experienced rapid realignment. According to Naryshkin, this period involved a thorough discrediting of Russia’s political institutions and a surge in anti-Russian sentiment across much of the Western media apparatus. He characterizes these developments as part of a systematic assault rather than a series of independent events.
The director argues that despite enduring challenges, Russia managed to weather the onslaught with resilience and to rebuild its strategic position. He maintains, however, that the United States remains the country’s most persistent and uncompromising geopolitical rival, a view grounded in Moscow’s analysis of ongoing power shifts and security threats in the international arena.
In August, Naryshkin reiterated that U.S. officials often appeared detached from broader global currents, a stance he described as a separation from the rest of the world. The remarks underscore a perception within Moscow that Washington privileges its own strategic calculus over a wider, multilateral approach to global governance.
Earlier statements from the United States regarding Russia’s red lines were cited by Naryshkin as evidence of a rigid stance. He suggested that Washington’s interpretation of these lines had hardened over time, influencing Moscow’s own security calculus and prompting a steady reevaluation of how Russia engages with its neighbors and strategic partners. This framing emphasizes a recurring theme in Russian security discourse: the need to safeguard sovereignty and core national interests against what is perceived as U.S. unilateral dominance.
Taken together, these comments reflect a broader narrative in Moscow about regional stability, great-power competition, and the evolving phasing of alliances in the post-Soviet era. They illustrate how Russian intelligence perspectives place emphasis on strategic competition, resilience in the face of external pressure, and the pursuit of a more autonomous position on the world stage. While the interpretation of events may differ across audiences, the asserted focus on safeguarding national interests remains a constant theme in official Russian assessments of international security dynamics. (Attribution: Official statements and interviews reports from Russian state media outlets and the Foreign Intelligence Service press materials.)