Please join the Fletcher Eurasia Club for a conversation about the evolution of Russia’s multilateral engagement with Visiting Professor Mikhail Troitskiy. Retreating from multilateral cooperation under the banner of parochial nationalism and neo-mercantilism has recently gained ground among politicians and voters in several major Western nations. Russia’s trajectory over the three post-Cold War decades offers an illustrative case: after initially enjoying substantial benefits from active participation in global multilateralism, the Kremlin grew resentful, withdrew from leading international forums, and ultimately launched an unprovoked unilateral invasion of Ukraine. Russian experience has highlighted what major powers stand to lose by undermining or exiting these institutions, and what the broader costs of forsaking negotiations on global challenges are.

Troitskiy will examine Russia’s evolving balance of costs and benefits from engaging in meaningful multilateral initiatives between 1992 and 2012, highlighting how the Kremlin later forfeited those gains in pursuit of questionable alternatives to the Western-led international order. The speaker will further explore Russia’s slide into unilateral aggression and the toll of its actions—both domestically and globally. Despite the ongoing war against Ukraine, Moscow is now seeking indirect avenues to regain access to critical multilateral platforms. By focusing on the Russian example, the talk underscores the dangers inherent in discarding multilateral collaboration and emphasizes the steep price nations pay when they abandon cooperative international norms.

We encourage you to read in advance the following articles by Troitskiy and other experts about how to keep open the prospect of peace prospect of peace for Russia and Ukraine, multilateral diplomacy in crisis, the importance of strengthening international institutions in a multipolar world, and how the global order is being shaped by BRICS and the Russia-India-China (RIC) triangle.

The Eurasia Club lunch seminar series engages with students, faculty, staff, and researchers to foster a better understanding of the region among members of the Fletcher and wider Tufts communities. Please register via the following Microsoft Form to attend the event in person or let us know if you would like to attend virtually. Please contact us with any questions you might have about the event or if you would like to submit discussion questions for the speaker in advance. Lunch will be served following the conversation. Please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions, and we will do our best to accommodate you.