The View of the US Elections from Russia

The results of the midterm Congressional elections have drawn a good deal of attention across the globe. In Russia, pundits generally believe that Democratic control of Congress will mean a much harder US line on human rights and a return to protectionism. That would mean a potential cooling in US-Russian relations, in anticipation that Congress will be more critical of the problems with Russian democracy, and a slowing of Russia’s progress toward achieving entry to the WTO.

Other pundits have voiced the hope that Democrats will succeed in reorienting US policy in a multilateral direction. The Kremlin has been an outspoken opponent of the current US hegemonic system, viewing a multi-polar world order as more advantageous to it. Indeed, the achievement of a multi-polar system is the country’s major foreign policy goal. However, some have expressed concerns in the immediate aftermath of the US elections that a multi-polar world may well lack the capacity to control nuclear proliferation and assure collective security.