It seems mind blistering to untangle the mass of relationships when it comes to Russian international trade. The reason for such a statement is that a country of the size and caliber of Russia will probably trade with whomever it cares to. Moreover, relationship is in the eye of the beholder. In some quarters what passes for a cooperative (a kind of trade bloc), others may see as a common market. To detangle such a mass would require research beyond the purview of this document.
Actual trade blocs that Russia is a member of include APEC, the CIS and the EAEC (aka EurAsEC) Eurasian Economic Community. Russia has trade associations established with the EU, the EFTA, the CEFTA and the OCAC. There is also something called the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) that Russia has a relationship with (more of a treaty than an Association or Bloc) (Cohen, Ph.D. & Evseev, Ph.D., 2007, GlobalTrade.net, 2011, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation , the, 2011, Stanley St Labs, Venables, 2004, World Trade Organization, 2011).
Regional integration agreements (RIAs) are generally discriminatory trade policies, of which three are common: common markets, custom unions and free trade areas (CM, CU & FTAs). Further research would determine how much if any of this is occurring (likely at least in the CIS).
Russia’s top five export destinations, in order, are the European Union, China, Ukraine, Turkey and Belarus. The obverse (order and imports) are the European Union, China, Ukraine, Japan and Belarus.
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