Sveriges relationer med Ryssland: kontinuitet och förändring historiskt och idag

Sammendrag

Relations between Sweden and Russia have historically been characterized by continuity and stability, despite occasional periods of friction. On the one hand, Sweden and Russia have a more active bilateral agenda than what is usually recognized, primarily in the areas of trade, investments and cultural and educational exchanges. On the other hand, there are several issues – like the Ukraine conflict, the EU Eastern Partnership, Swedish NATO cooperation and the security situation in the Baltic Sea area – involving competing claims and interests between Sweden and Russia. Further, Swedish foreign policy since the 1990s has been framed within a multilateral context, and that has a bearing on Swedish–Russian relations as well. This situation is likely to continue, unless dramatic changes occur in the political relations between Russia and the Western powers.