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PSIR Optional PYQ Solutions · Model answer

Russian foreign policy is described as the “tyranny of the weak”. Explain how judiciously Russia has made use of her weakness vis-a-vis the West and USA.

  • UPSC 1996
  • Contemporary Global Concerns

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The "tyranny of the weak" describes a state that turns its own fragility into bargaining power: the stronger side pays because the weak side's collapse would cost it more. In the 1990s, under Boris Yeltsin, the economy shrank, Chechnya exposed the army, and Russian foreign policy moved from Andrei Kozyrev's pro-Western line to Yevgeny Primakov's…

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What the full answer covers

  • The logic: weakness as leverage
  • How Russia used its weakness
  • How judicious was it?
  • Conclusion
PSIR Optional PYQ Solutions

PSIR Optional PYQ Solutions

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