Look before NATO leaps into the Caspian

Geopolitical constraints and institutional innovation

“…Russian is no longer a priority language in non-Russian Eurasian countries, though it remains a primary language of business and government. 32 Moreover, the Russian public had little appetite for shedding blood and treasure to keep Russia intact in Chechnya -let alone to sustain the CIS. Russia has thus used economic leverage to exercise its residual hegemonic influence.…”