| Summary/Abstract |
Russia is a country that Western and other observers have often claimed pursues a grand strategy, and that it does so far more determinedly and successfully than its Western counterparts. The Middle East is a region in which not just the Soviet Union and now Putin's Russia have been described as successfully pursuing grand strategies. Tsarist Russia also did, and for a longer period than its successors. Still, both the Tsars and the Soviets experienced setbacks in the Middle East and elsewhere. However, as Russian observers have noted proudly (and Western ones ruefully), Russia has displayed a knack for recovering from setbacks and often becoming even stronger than before — thus enhancing its reputation for successfully pursuing a grand strategy.
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