Russia has been accused since the collapse of the USSR of destabilising its former Soviet neighbours to keep them in its orbit, reports GHN based on BBC.
Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen told BBC News at the recent Nato summit in Wales that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to see "protracted, frozen conflicts in the neighbourhood" to stop countries which used to be in Moscow's sphere of influence from integrating with the EU and Nato.
That was why Russia had annexed Crimea and destabilised eastern Ukraine, he said.
The idea is that a bloody, territorial conflict with no obvious solution is put on hold, with Russia stepping in to keep the peace on its own terms.
Moldova's breakaway territory of Trans-Dniester and Georgia's rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia were given as examples of this policy.
Analysts would add Nagorno-Karabakh to the list, even if Russia's role in that protracted dispute between Armenians and Azeris is not immediately evident.
It has to be said, too, that Russia is often regarded as a benefactor and protector by the people who actually live inside the "frozen conflict" zones, while many Russians feel a sense of duty towards expatriates and anyone "loyal" to the old USSR.
