8. Russia’s Strategies Towards BRICS: Theory and Practice

Russia’s policies and strategies towards BRICS represent a combination of ideational and material motives. On the one hand, the BRICS grouping is important for Moscow in terms of enhancing its status in international relations. On the other hand, the Kremlin values its economic and strategic partnership with the BRICS countries, since they are important for Russia’s well-being and sustainable development as well as its efforts for counter-balancing the West in the global geoeconomic and geopolitical game. Russia’s active participation in BRICS indicates that Moscow prefers to redesign its foreign policy in a way to support and further develop international norms, rules and institutions as well as non-coercive and soft power methods. The BRICS framework provides Moscow not only with additional authority in the world community but also with legitimacy to Russia’s international activities.