Despite having been established less than two years ago, the Eurasian Economic Union is not a new concept. Russia has a lengthy history of pulling smaller neighbors into its orbit — the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union are proof of that. Though its integration projects varied in size and scope, all rested on the same fundamental principle that guided Moscow's actions: Russia belongs to neither Europe nor Asia , and its periphery should not either. Instead, Russia's greatest imperative has been to insulate itself from continental empires by creating one of its own, surrounding the Russian heartland with buffers on its western, eastern and southern flanks. The Eurasian Economic Union is one way to do that, though the name belies the bloc's true nature. It is not simply about economics, just as its predecessor, the Customs Union , was not simply about trade.