Author: Shigeki Hakamada, Aoyama Gakuin University

Still months out from Russia’s March 2012 presidential election and it is virtually certain that Vladimir Putin will return to the presidency.

Significantly for Asia, Putin called for the creation of a Eurasian Union shortly after announcing his intention to run. The plan, unveiled in a newspaper article on 4 October, is to achieve EU-style economic integration based on Russia’s customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus that would eventually encompass the whole Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Read more…