La Russia e l'Europa. Equilibri di potenza, sfere di influenza, confini contesi

This essay retraces the salient stages, from the 17th century to the present day, of the positioning within the European context of three state systems that have followed one another in the Russian space: the Tsarist Empire, the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation. The serious deterioration cur- rently underway in the relationship between the Russian Federation and the European Union makes urgent the need to address the issue of the interaction between Russia and Europe from a broad historical perspective, with an awareness of the geopolitical constraints and with an adequate knowledge of cultural and identity factors influencing foreign policy choices.