Why the Eurasian Union Will Never Be the EU

Editor's Note: This is the sixth installment of a seven-part series examining how the world's regional economic blocs are faring as the largest of them — the European Union — continues to fragment.

Like the Customs Union before it, the Eurasian Economic Union was built with one goal in mind: to cement Russia's hold over the states in its periphery. With the promise of investment and protection, the Kremlin has done just that, bringing fellow bloc members Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan firmly under its influence.

But the Eurasian Economic Union has not reached the global status Moscow hoped it would. Rather than rivaling its biggest competitor, the European Union, the Russia-led organization has limped along, struggling to overcome the problems Russia's deteriorating economy has created for it. Though Europe's fragmentation could give the bloc a temporary boost, the persistent weakness of the Eurasian Economic Union's most important member will continue to hold the organization back, stuck in the shadows of its Western adversary.