The UK government's 2021 Integrated Review of security and defence outlines Russia as the "most acute threat to our security". This follows the rise of an increasingly resurgent and highly unpredictable Russia under Putin, with many in the West raising the spectre that Russia’s military actions are leading to a restoration of the former Soviet Union in a new shape and form.

But how credible is this interpretation of Russian foreign policy over the last 30 years and how careful should we be before jumping to conclusions about what lies behind the Russian state’s actions?

In this episode, Dr Domitilla Sagramoso, Lecturer in Security and Development at the Department of War Studies, shares insights from her recently published book 'Russian Imperialism Revisited: From Disengagement to Hegemony'.

Offering rigorous and objective analysis of Russia’s policies in its closest neighbourhood over a 30 year period up to 2017, she hopes to provide a closer look at the drivers and motivations behind foreign-policy formulation and provide accurate analysis of Russian actions in the former Soviet space.

An invaluable resource to anyone grappling with the increasing tensions in Western-Russian relations, her findings highlight the missed opportunities for building bridges between Russia and the West, and underline how and why Russian foreign policy took a different, more assertive tack under Putin.