RUSSIAN ELITE IMAGE OF IRAN: FROM THE LATE SOVIET ERA TO THE PRESENT

Since the late Soviet era, the presence of Iran has
loomed large in the minds of the Russian elite. Their vision
of Iran has been incorporated in the general view of
the Russian relationship with the Muslim world. Soon
after the end of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR)—and even before—increasing numbers of Russian
intellectuals became disenchanted with the West,
especially the United States, and looked for alternative
geopolitical alliances. The Muslim world, with Iran at
the center, became one of the possible alternatives.
Iran became especially important in the geopolitical
construction of Eurasianists or neo-Eurasianists who
believed that Russia’s alliance with Iran is essential for
Russia’s rise to power. Yet, by the middle of Russian
President Vladimir Putin’s tenure, increasing tension
with the Muslim community and the rise of Russian
nationalism had led to more complicated views of the
Russian elite on Iran. At present, the Russian elite does
not mind using Iran as a bargaining chip in its dealings
with the West, especially the United States, and as a
market for Russian weapons and other goods and
services. However, the dream of a Russian-Iran axis is
apparently abandoned for good.