Another great game?

The blistering political attack over the weekend against Russia’s failure to abide by democratic standards from US Vice President Dick Cheney might well mark the end of a tranquil phase in US-Russian relations. That Russia under Vladimir Putin has been turning steadily authoritarian has been a popular critique in the US. But the world is now hearing this concern voiced at the highest political levels in Washington. While President Bush has maintained good personal ties with Putin, the White House spokesman has endorsed Cheny’s criticism, insisting Russia show improvement in its democratic practices before hosting the G-8 annual summit at St Petersburg in July.

New tensions between Russia and the US are also rooted in the growing mutual distrust in the former Soviet republics. As Russia seeks to reassert its primacy in the so-called near abroad, the US is worried about the impact of Moscow’s policies on regional stability. Moscow sees the US promotion of the “colour revolutions” in its neighbourhood as a barely disguised attempt to undermine its influence. The US has also sought to move energy resources from Central Asia more directly to Western markets without having to go through Russian territory or areas controlled by Russian oil companies. The US is also raising eyebrows at Moscow’s collusion with Beijing to limit American influence in Central Asia and push its military out of the region.

Only a few believe that the US and Russia are returning to a cold war, which involved an all-encompassing global rivalry. But no one doubts that a new round of competition, or Great Game, between Washington and Moscow has already begun all across Eurasia. Given wary Sino-American relations and deepening hostility between China and Japan, the world might be headed towards a new and uncertain phase in great power relations. India needs to act with due deliberation if it wants to prevent the debilitating impact of a renewed great power rivalry on its freedom of foreign policy action.