The USSR had repudiated the capitalist system, but it became closely engaged in the affairs of the international community and occupied an important position as a member of the United Nations Security Council quite apart from its great size and military might. There was a closer association with the ‘other democracies’ during the Yeltsin presidency, but it became increasingly clear that a change of government did not necessarily mean that more enduring sources of division had been eliminated. In the Putin and Medvedev years, in part as a reaction, there was a stronger emphasis on relations with the other post-Soviet republics, and with Asia. There was also a greater willingness to assert Russia's distinctive interests, for instance in the face of ‘coloured revolutions’ elsewhere in post-Soviet space. But in what way? Discussions among Russian politicians and commentators in the Putin–Medvedev years suggested at least three different answers: a ‘liberal Westernising’ strategy, a ‘fundamentalist nationalist’ alternative and a ‘pragmatic nationalist’ position that appeared to be close to the position of the governing authorities themselves.