‘With a Little Help from my Friends’: Russia’s Modernisation and the Visa Regime with the European Union

Abstract

This essay examines Russian argumentation on its visa-free regime with the EU within the context of discussions about modernisation. It examines arguments within the Russian foreign policy establishment about modernisation, Russia’s modernisation partnership with the EU and visa-free travel, and how these issues are linked. First, the essay outlines two models of Russian modernisation, comprehensive and selective. Then the Russia–EU modernisation partnership is examined focusing on Russia’s view of the nature of the partnership. Finally, the essay analyses Russian argumentation on visa-free regime and liberalisation. The essay concludes that in the Russian modernisation debate, be it comprehensive or selective, inclusion into the Western community is understood as an important prerequisite for modernisation.