European Policy of Contemporary Russia: Between True and False Europe.

The paper will be devoted to the analysis of the discursive structures which underlie contemporary Russian policy in Europe and determine the limits of feasible political action. One of the most important and lasting structures of Russian foreign policy discourse is the opposition between true and false Europe. Russian foreign policy discourse always strives to present some international actors in Europe (states, IGOs etc.) as a reliable partner Russia can deal with, while others are classified as embodiments of the false Europe, which not only can be anti-Russian, but usually is anti-European in violating the norms associated with the European civilization. The existence of the false Europe helps Russian society to overcome the ambiguity of Russia’s position in Europe, characterized by simultaneous belonging and exclusion, since the Russian state may present itself as part of the true Europe by criticizing the false Europe and thus positioning Russia as a good European. The paper will give historical examples of this discursive practice, but will concentrate on contemporary issues, in particular human rights and the war against terrorism, and the policy in relation to the New Europe, especially the Baltic States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]