The decisions of the United Nations Security Council are shaped in particular by its permanent members. Alexander Nikitin takes a thorough look into the role that Moscow plays as one of the P5 in shaping the agenda and decisions of the Council and the relevance this membership has for Russian foreign and security policy. He comes to the overall conclusion that »Russia in recent years has invested significant efforts in restoring and strengthening its role as a global power, and Russia’s permanent membership of the Security Council is actively being used by Moscow to maintain such a global role.«