Rosja broni swoich zdobyczy
Russia protects its assets

Summary/Abstract: In 2017, Russian domestic, economic as well as foreign policy were subordinated to the preparations for the presidential election, which was expected to legitimize Vladimir Putin’s further rule. For this reason, the Kremlin’s main concern was to prevent any events endangering stability in those spheres in order to avoid even the slightest risk to the political process. In their internal policy, the authorities continued to block the tools that gave the West any potential influence on the situation in the country, tightening control over the society, harassing the political opposition and disciplining the broader political elite. The tensions in the elite and the oppositional mobilization on the part of the youth were problems for the Kremlin. In their economic policy, the authorities took advantage of rising oil prices to try to ensure financial stability, maintain a small economic growth and rebuild reserves in case of a deterioration of the situation. The problem was economic stagnation and pauperization of a part of society. In foreign policy, Russia made small attempts to normalize its relations with the West, but not at the expense of any political concessions. On the other hand, it strengthened, also informally, cooperation with China and tried to discount its growing activity in the Middle East and dominance in Syria to build its image of a superpower. The main problem was the unexpected further deterioration of relations with the US, in particular the threat of toughening American sanctions.

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