The Post-Soviet Space as the Political Aspect of Relations Between the EAEU and the EU

Despite the fact that in recent years a large number of scientific papers devoted to integration processes on the post-Soviet space have appeared, a relatively small number of studies related to the integration policies of the EU and Russia towards countries of New Eastern Europe and South Caucasus have been carried out to date. The impact of competition of integration policies on the development of relations between the EU and Russia has not been studied at all. In this connection, the author of the study made attempts to analyze the impact of competing integration policies conducted by the EU and Russia towards the countries of the post-Soviet space both on the development of New Eastern Europe and South Caucasus and relations between the EU and Russia. The author hypothesized that despite the fact that at the official level both the EU and Russia declare their desire to establish a dialogue, they continue to pursue competing integration policies towards the countries of the "Eastern Partnership" that ultimately may lead to destabilization of the post-Soviet space and severance of ties between the EU and Russia. The research involved a wide range of sources in order to obtain the most accurate and comprehensive information. The study was carried out on the basis of the following research methods: cognitive mapping technique, decision method, event-analysis and comparative-historical method. As a result, all research objectives were achieved and the hypothesis of the research was fully confirmed. Key words: post-Soviet space, the EU, the EAEU, EU-EAEU dialogue, integration policy, "Eastern Partnership"