In today's world of increasing globalization, more countries are establishing their roles in the international community more so than ever before. In the past the world was ruled by empires that took up large territories in comparison to today being ruled by many countries with varying amounts of power and so there is more cooperation between countries. However, to become a superpower, the same things apply today as at any point in history. Two of the most important resources in being a global superpower is having a large population and territory which Russia most definitely has both. The value of having a large territory and population would separate Russia ahead from most countries in the world and in the same category as the U.S, China, and others.

Spasskiy’s idea of Russia using the approach of being its own island on the world stage is how to deal with the 21st century world. As foreign affairs without the hegemony of two superpowers like in the cold war, makes the world more unpredictable as there are not two big sides to pick but several powers both big and small. Spasskiy writes how Russia was a global superpower as the Soviet Union but for much of its history Russia was not a superpower. Today Russia has many advantages in becoming a superpower in the 21st century like its natural resources but still faces a number of struggles such as its demographic problem. With Russia acting as an island, they can modernize while still maintaining the status as a global power that they already have.

In the bipolar world order, the two global superpowers greatly benefited from competing from the other and there not being any countries competing against them. With a new world order there is less security from great powers and emerging powers without two clear hegemonic powers. And so, there is less security felt from other countries who do not have a power to assist them leading to a higher possibility of conflicts especially in unstable regions

The author's perspective is that Russia seeks to become a global power but has a number of obstacles. At the end of the cold war left Russia with not the same status as a world power like the Soviet Union was. To gain the status as a global superpower once again countries have to rely on their own resources and advantages for hegemony. Being naive with other global powers can bring down the status that they are building up. But the author questions its overall power such as military capabilities and how it can counter threats from the middle east, central and south Asia how they can compete with other great powers to gain influence near its borders.

I think that responding in a helpful manner is crucial for success. Getting feedback from several perspectives can only help in the long run. I like how the word helpful in used here because we are all here to do our best not just for ourselves but for others too.