The Post-Western Order and Eurasian Multilayering: Regional Organizations as Instruments of Russian Foreign Policy

This article explores Russia’s institutional strategy in the Eurasian space through the lens of four key regional organizations: the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Against the backdrop of global systemic transformation, the weakening of Westerncentered governance models, and the shift toward multipolarity, Russia seeks to consolidate its interests via institutional mechanisms that support an alternative architecture of regional coordination. The study offers a comprehensive political analysis of the structure, function, and internal dynamics of these organizations as interrelated instruments of Russian foreign policy. It demonstrates that Moscow has developed a multi-tiered model combining formal mechanisms (CSTO, EAEU) and flexible frameworks (SCO, CIS), tailored to different levels and directions of cooperation. Special attention is given to the comparative roles of Russia, China, and India, as well as to internal contradictions, ranging from legal asymmetries to symbolic practices of leadership. The article’s originality lies in interpreting these regional organizations not as isolated entities but as interconnected components of a coherent strategy aimed at shaping a post-Western international order. It examines instruments of currency and labor integration, responses to sanctions, security coordination, and regional power balancing. The analysis concludes that Russia is constructing not a centralized bloc, but a regime-based network unified by a normative framework rooted in sovereignty, non-interference, and strategic autonomy. These structures function as platforms for projecting influence, legitimizing alternative governance norms, and managing contradictions in a fragmented and turbulent global context. The article provides insight into how institutional layering and cross-regional mechanisms underpin Russia’s ambition to serve as a civilizational core in the evolving multipolar world.