JANUSZ BUGAJSKI is Director of the East European Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He has served as a consultant for both government and private organizations and has lectured at numerous American and European universities. He chairs the South-Central Europe area studies program at the Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State, and is the author or editor of several books on the region.

• Introduction: Near or Temporary Abroad?Russia's Foreign Policy ArsenalRetaining a Union: Belarus and KaliningradRegaining a Commonwealth: Ukraine and MoldovaBlocking Western Encroachment: The Baltic StatesNeutralizing the Core: Central EuropeExploiting Crisis: Adriatic BalkansExporting Influence: Black Sea BalkansConclusions: Looking Ahead

"Endorsement from Zbigniew Brzezinski, former US National Security Advisor to the Carter Administration: This important and timely book will be a revelatory shock to most readers. It exposes vividly what has been ignored by most U.S. policy makers, from the White House down: namely, that Russia's policies towards the countries of the former Soviet Bloc are still being influenced by an ominously imperialist nostalgia. I know of no other work which so effectively combines analysis with hitherto unknown and highly sensitive data.