Russia’s Views on and Initial Responses to the 2021 Strategic Retake of Afghanistan by the Taliban

The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in mid-2021 has not taken the Russian authorities by surprise. For over 20 years, Moscow was observing the strategic rise of the fundamentalist militant movement with concern, which was largely triggered by domestic security considerations as well as pote...

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Main Author: Muraviev, Alexey
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Journals 2022
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89622
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author Muraviev, Alexey
author_facet Muraviev, Alexey
author_sort Muraviev, Alexey
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in mid-2021 has not taken the Russian authorities by surprise. For over 20 years, Moscow was observing the strategic rise of the fundamentalist militant movement with concern, which was largely triggered by domestic security considerations as well as potential challenges to security and stability across the former Soviet Central Asia. However, since the re-establishment of the Taliban’s rule in Kabul, Moscow’s approach underwent a gradual change, from being negative and alarmist to a more cautiously pragmatic one. This article will review the evolution of Russia’s perceptions of the Taliban, highlight Moscow’s principal concerns, identify the initial set of response measures following the country’s takeover in 2021 and entertain several scenarios of the Kremlin’s future approaches vis-a-vis the new rulers in Kabul.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-896222023-01-20T05:59:40Z Russia’s Views on and Initial Responses to the 2021 Strategic Retake of Afghanistan by the Taliban Muraviev, Alexey The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in mid-2021 has not taken the Russian authorities by surprise. For over 20 years, Moscow was observing the strategic rise of the fundamentalist militant movement with concern, which was largely triggered by domestic security considerations as well as potential challenges to security and stability across the former Soviet Central Asia. However, since the re-establishment of the Taliban’s rule in Kabul, Moscow’s approach underwent a gradual change, from being negative and alarmist to a more cautiously pragmatic one. This article will review the evolution of Russia’s perceptions of the Taliban, highlight Moscow’s principal concerns, identify the initial set of response measures following the country’s takeover in 2021 and entertain several scenarios of the Kremlin’s future approaches vis-a-vis the new rulers in Kabul. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89622 10.1177/23477970221133145 English SAGE Journals restricted
spellingShingle Muraviev, Alexey
Russia’s Views on and Initial Responses to the 2021 Strategic Retake of Afghanistan by the Taliban
title Russia’s Views on and Initial Responses to the 2021 Strategic Retake of Afghanistan by the Taliban
title_full Russia’s Views on and Initial Responses to the 2021 Strategic Retake of Afghanistan by the Taliban
title_fullStr Russia’s Views on and Initial Responses to the 2021 Strategic Retake of Afghanistan by the Taliban
title_full_unstemmed Russia’s Views on and Initial Responses to the 2021 Strategic Retake of Afghanistan by the Taliban
title_short Russia’s Views on and Initial Responses to the 2021 Strategic Retake of Afghanistan by the Taliban
title_sort russia’s views on and initial responses to the 2021 strategic retake of afghanistan by the taliban
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89622