Russia And The West: A Rhetorical Analysis

The relation between Russia and the West is a debatable and meaningful topic which has been discussed by many experts and specialists. Lilia Shevtsova, an expert on Russian politics and a Senior Associate at Carnegie Moscow Center, analyzes the reasons why Russia has not modernized into a liberal democracy with a completely transparent market economy and the relation between Russian and the West, especially with the United States. In her book Lonely Power: Why Russia Has Failed to Become the West and the West is Weary of Russia, she dissects Russia’s foreign policy, “imitation democracy” and the relations between the United States and Russia. Specifically, Lilia Shevtsova points out that there exist misunderstandings between the West and Russia, …show more content…
On July 2009, President Obama visited Moscow and made a huge impression on Russian people using his speech. During that visit, President Obama attempted to develop a new foreign policy approach and tried to change the rooted views that Russian people have held for the West. The speech given by President Obama was successful in some sense because many Russian people were impressed by President Obama’s new foreign policy. As they said, “This is a leader who thinks in new categories. Compared to him, we are people of the last generation. But our young generation must understand him!” (Lonely Power page 272) In this excerpt, we can know that many Russia people are impressed by President Obama’s speeches and his new “reset” policy. However, from the perspective of Lilia Shevtsova, even though President Obama proposed a new foreign policy with Russia, he did not actually turn his plan into a very concrete and doable policy. Despite a series of efforts done by President Obama and his administration officials, he did not change Russia’s political practice essentially and fundamentally. As Lilia Shevtsova mentions, “All that awaits is for the United States to finally realize that Russia cannot truly be cooperative without undergoing a genuine transformation.” (Lonely Power page 272) The reasons that why Russia cannot form a long-term partnership with the West and why Russia has failed to really become the West are that a variety of persuasions and reforms are required. It is very hard for the two completely different nations who are under distinct political systems to reach an agreement and achieve a long-term partnership. Therefore, even though President Obama adopts new foreign policy to reset the relations with Russia,