This volume on Russia is the first in a series on strategic thinking in Asia. It examines four periods since the 1980s and covers views of China, Japan, the Korean peninsula, Central Asia, South and Southeast Asia, and regionalism. With an emphasis on Northeast Asia the geographical chapters provide an in-depth look at how foreign policy toward separate areas was guided. The overview compares how strategic thinking evolved, while reflecting on factors that shaped it. The book explains the Putin era's ambivalent approach to Asia and finds lessons from earlier approaches worthy of further attention.