Russia’s Geography and Its Influence on its Geopolitics

Abstract

ABSTRACT

     This article provides an extended analysis of how Russia’s geographical characteristics profoundly shape its national security priorities, its strategic culture, and the tools it employs in foreign policy. As the world’s largest state, spanning two continents and eleven time zones, Russia faces a combination of structural vulnerabilities and exceptional geopolitical opportunities. Its exposure on the western plains, where no natural barriers slow military advance, has historically subjected it to catastrophic invasions, reinforcing the understanding that strategic depth and the establishment of buffer zones are essential for national survival. This perception continues to inform Russian actions in Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet space.

     Moreover, the distribution of Russia’s population, concentrated predominantly on the European side of the country, creates a geographic mismatch between human capital and natural resources. Siberia and the Arctic contain immense reserves of oil, gas, and minerals but remain sparsely populated, expensive to govern, and militarily challenging to defend. Maintaining sovereignty and economic control over these regions pushes Moscow to pursue assertive internal and external policies, particularly as climate change and foreign interest increase competition over Arctic routes.

      Maritime constraints add another strategic dimension. Russia possesses few warm-water ports, and those it relies upon — such as Sevastopol in Crimea — are central to its naval doctrine and global outreach. Limited access to the world’s oceans reinforces Russia’s focus on land power and creates pressure to exert influence over neighboring states that serve as geographic chokepoints or transit corridors. Russian involvement in Syria, increased Arctic militarization, and persistent frictions around the Black Sea all reflect these structural maritime imperatives.

     Methodologically, the research is based on a geopolitical analytical approach using qualitative methods: historical comparison, content analysis of policy papers and strategic doctrines, and case studies of Russia’s interventions and influence in Ukraine, the Caucasus, and the Arctic. These cases demonstrate how Russian leaders translate geographic challenges into strategic behavior, relying on both coercive tools and narratives of protecting national identity and spheres of privileged interests.

     The findings indicate that geography shapes not only Russia’s threat perception but also its aspirations to remain a great power capable of influencing developments across Eurasia. Strategic culture, national identity, and policies of territorial control emerge as adaptive responses to the state’s spatial environment. Geography imposes enduring incentives on Moscow to maintain military readiness, centralize governance, and resist the political drift of neighboring states toward rival power blocs.

     In conclusion, Russia can be understood as a power continually negotiating between the vulnerabilities imposed by its geography and the ambitions enabled by it. Any analysis of Russian foreign and security policy must therefore recognize geography as a foundational determinant of Russian behavior — a determinant that is deeply embedded in strategic decision-making and highly resistant to change over time.