Russia

The Commonwealth of Independent States

In the mid-1990s, an increasingly prominent component of Russian foreign policy was recovery of military and economic influence in as many Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nations as possible. Along Russia's southern borders, postindependence instability offered a series of opportunities to retain a military presence in the name of "peacekeeping" among warring factions or nations, some of whose hostility could be traced back to actions taken by Russian forces. Variations of this theme occurred in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Tajikistan.