Editor's Note : This is the second installment in a five-part series on Russia's resurgence. Click to read Part 1 , Part 3 , Part 4 and Part 5 . The Eastern European former Soviet states of Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova are important to Russia for various reasons, including geographic location and economic relations. Generally, these states all cooperate with Moscow, but the degrees of cooperation vary. Ukraine understands the necessity of strong ties to Russia but works to play Russia and the West off of each other to gain as many concessions as possible. Belarus, largely isolated from the West for political reasons, depends greatly on Russia and is already a member of Moscow's customs union with Kazakhstan, so it will be the least resistant to integration into the Eurasian Union.