Ukrainian policy of Russia: between hard and soft power

The article deals with the genesis of the Russian policy in regard to Ukraine. The author shows the context in which modern Russian-Ukrainian relations after 1991 emerged and pays special attention to the consequences which influenced the course of Moscow in regard to Kiev. In the article the process of step-by-step degradation of Russian-Ukrainian relations which was mixed with attempts made by Moscow to find firm course is analyzed. An assumption is made that the events of 2014 were a logic final of this process. The perspectives of the future development of the situation in the light of the crisis in bilateral relations started after 2014 are shown