Turkey is poised to become an increasingly influential Eurasian power as Russia faces mounting international pressure and domestic turmoil. Ankara will gain new allies in the North and South Caucasus and Central Asia and among numerous Turkic-speaking people trapped in the Russian Federation. They will come to see Turkey as their most important political, economic, and security link.

Moscow’s plans to dominate Eurasia are failing. The Eurasian Economic Union, a pale imitation of the European Union, brings few material benefits, while the Kremlin-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization, a supposed counterpart to NATO, is incapable of defending its own members in Central Asia and the Caucasus and is viewed as a cover for Russian dominance.