Durham E-Theses Russia's Great Power Ambitions: The Role of Siberia, the Russian Far East, and the Arctic in Russia's Contemporary Relations with Northeast Asia CONTRERAS-LUNA, RAFAEL How to cite: CONTRERAS-LUNA, RAFAEL (2016) Russia's Great Power Ambitions: The Role of Siberia, the Russian Far East, and the Arctic in Russia's Contemporary Relations with Northeast Asia, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12034/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 RUSSIA’S GREAT POWER AMBITIONS: THE ROLE OF SIBERIA, THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST, AND THE ARCTIC IN RUSSIA’S CONTEMPORARY RELATIONS WITH NORTHEAST ASIA ________________________________________________________________________ Rafael Contreras Luna Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Government and International Affairs Durham University 2016 i ABSTRACT Being at the confluence of two worlds – East and West – has had long-term influence on how Russia has thought of its national identity, in particular prompting the question: to what extent is it joining or resisting these two worlds? This thesis argues that Russia’s self- perception of being a great power – greatpowerness - defines its status and position in the world. This ‘greatpowerness’ is a central element of Russia’s national identity and exerts huge influence in the country’s foreign policy making. Under the presidency of Vladimir Putin, Russia has established a long-term project to develop and improve living conditions in Asiatic Russia, and advance its integration into Northeast Asia. This thesis pursues a research study focusing on these problems: Russia’s insistence on its great power status and the idea of Russia as a great power straddling the West and Asia as a key demand of national identity. The thesis tries to explain how Russian foreign policy reflects this; but also how Asiatic Russia remains a central element defining and promoting this national identity and its quest for great power status. This thesis aims to examine how the aforementioned ideas relate to the apparent necessity of Russia to develop Asiatic Russia and integrate it into Northeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific region, pointing out to the dilemmas between cooperation and security issues. The function and perception of Asiatic Russia has never been exclusively internal or external but has always arisen out of the interaction of the two. Therefore this thesis does not only study changes in Asiatic Russia in the post-Soviet period; but also the new external conditions in Northeast Asia. This thesis attempts to connect three aspects—national identity, geographical settings, and external strategy, to determine the place of Siberia, the Russian Far East, and the Arctic in Russia’s contemporary relations with Northeast Asian countries. ii I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author's prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Rafael Contreras Luna iii ACKNOWLEGMENTS iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv 1. CHAPTER ONE: Introduction.................................................................................. 1 1.1. Topic: Russia, Asiatic Russia, and Northeast Asia......................................... 3 1.2. Theory and Methodology.................................................................................. 7 1.2.1. Sources…………………………………...…………........................ 15 1.3. Research Questions........................................................................................ 20 1.4. Thesis Organization........................................................................................ 21 2. CHAPTER TWO: Russia’s National Identity and Greatpowerness.................... 23 2.1. National Identity.............................................................................................. 24 2.1.1. What is Identity? .................................................................................24 2.1.2. Construction of National Identity....................................................... 26 2.2. Russian National Identity............................................................................... 29 2.2.1. History, Culture, and Intellectual Identity debates ............................ 30 2.2.2. Russia’s Main Other…………………............................................... 36 2.2.3. The New Russian Nation.................................................................... 39 2.2.4. Russia’s Schools of Thought………...................................................44 2.2.4.1. Westernism…….................................................................. 44 2.2.4.2. Neo-Eurasianism…………………...…...………….............46 2.2.4.3. Pragmatic Eurasianism…………………………………….49 2.3. Russia’s Great Power Identity………….................................................... 53 2.3.1. Russia’s Claim to Great Power Status................................................ 54 2.2.2. Russia’s Great Power Attributes…..................................................... 59 2.3.3. Russia’s Soft Power………………………….………………………63 2.3.3. Greatpowerness…..………………………….………………………67 2.4. Conclusions.................................................................................................... 70 3. CHAPTER THREE: Russia’s Eastward Expansion: History..................................73 3.1. Conquest, 1550-1700....................................................................................... 74 3.1.1. Economy............................................................................................. 79 3.2. Settlement, 1700-1800..................................................................................... 80 3.2.1. Economy........................................................................................... 84 3.3. Integration, 1800-1917.................................................................................... 87 3.3.1. Economy............................................................................................ 92 3.4. Soviet Era, 1917-1991..................................................................................... 95 3.4.1. Economy........................................................................................... 100 3.5. Crisis, 1992-1999........................................................................................... 105 3.6. Conclusions.................................................................................................... 107 4. CHAPTER FOUR: What is Siberia to Russia?...................................................... 110 v 4.1. Russia in Asia……………………........................................................ 111 4.1.1. What is Siberia.................................................................................. 111 4.1.2. Russia’s Pivot to Asia………………........................................ 115 4.2. Siberia: Opportunities and Challenges....................................................... 119 4.2.1. Security Issues................................................................................. 120 4.2.2. Energy Issues....................................................................................126 4.2.3. Economic Issues.............................................................................130 4.2.4. The Arctic Policy of Russia...............................................................139 4.3. Conclusions.................................................................................................... 147 5. CHAPTER FIVE: Russia-China.............................................................................. 151 5.1. Background....................................................................................................152 5.2. Bilateral Relations: Determinants................................................................159 5.2.1. Political............................................................................................. 159 5.2.2. Economic.......................................................................................... 168 5.3. Regional Level............................................................................................ 174 5.3.1. Political and Security Issues............................................................. 174 5.3.2. Economic