Yevgeny Maximovich Primakov: The Architect of Multipolarity
The legacy of Yevgeny Primakov, the Russian statesman who envisioned a multipolar world, uniting Russia, India, and China in a strategic alliance against Western hegemony.
On March 24, 1999, Primakov was en route to the United States for an official visit. Midway across the Atlantic Ocean, the Russian Prime Minister learned that NATO forces had begun bombing Serbia, a close ally of Russia. Primakov immediately ordered his plane to turn back, returning to Moscow in a maneuver known as "Primakov's Loop." His decision aligned with the goals he had set for himself.
In 1996, as Foreign Minister, Primakov presented a plan to the Kremlin elite for developing a three-way strategic pivot between Russia, India, and China. This multipolar doctrine would serve as a tangible alternative to the unipolarity imposed by the United States in the post-Cold War era.
At that time, the Kremlin was teeming with pro-Western Muscovites. Many were deeply entrenched and funded by various American think tanks (read: spy agencies). It was neither the time nor the place to pitch such a radical idea as uniting three vastly different countries in a strategic embrace. But like most great ideas, Primakov's was simple: first, Russia had to end its submissive foreign policy led by the United States; second, he emphasized the need to renew old ties with India and foster newfound friendship with China.
The Primakov Doctrine argued that a Russia-India-China (RIC) troika in a multipolar world would provide some protection for nations with a free-thinking mentality not allied with the West; moreover, the economic crisis in Russia presented a rare convergence of conditions within the RIC. Primakov's era was marked by former planned economies being "ruthlessly plundered by triumphant democracies under the guise of economic reforms or liberalization." Russian social thinkers and historians have noted similarities with the historical period of destruction and looting of China and India in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
As Prof Li Xing writes in The BRICS and Beyond, Primakov's vision was broader than just the RIC. "Primakov's doctrine is primarily designed to dilute America's power and influence while simultaneously increasing Russia's influence and position in the Middle East and Eurasia," says political analyst Ariel Cohen of the Heritage Foundation, in a report titled "The Primakov Doctrine: Russia's Zero-Sum Game with the United States." "Primakov proved to be a master at exploiting the anti-American sentiments of the Iranian Shiite establishment, Arab nationalists, and even the French foreign policy elite. During visits to Japan and Latin America, Primakov pledged Russia's support for their efforts to secure permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council."
But Primakov was not letting American hawks go unchallenged. In a 2006 speech, he thundered, "The collapse of US policies pursued in Iraq has dealt a fatal blow to the American doctrine of unilateralism."
"Having incorporated more and more countries, NATO has approached our borders, and this cannot make us uneasy," Primakov added. "All the more so as NATO's expansion is accompanied