An Assessment Silke Machold The literature on foreign economic policy and reintegration of the Russian economy into the world economy is voluminous. This article seeks to contribute to the debate on the changing nature of Russian external economic relations. In particular, the article sheds light both on the extent to which the decline in domestic economic performance is reflected in external relations and how and to what extent foreign trade and investment influences restructuring the domestic economy. Whilst the development of foreign trade policies is clearly of pivotal importance to the restructuring of the economy, western policy responses are another determinant. Thus, in the last part examine western responses to Russian re-integration into the world economy focusing in particular on the response of the European Union are examined. A closer analysis of the issues suggests that neither Russian reforms nor western responses give rise to optimism about the Russian transition path.
