Valdai Club

The transition to consolidate the presence of Russian exporters in the countries of the East, the creation of a redistribution process not only in Russia (this task has been going on for a long time and does not depend on anyone but ourselves), but also in sales markets, own hubs and logistics centres serve as a basis for long-term competitiveness, writes Anastasia Likhacheva.

An important and visual lesson from the pandemic is that technology is wonderful; it improves the quality of life, gives us new materials, communication, medicines and vaccines. It increases the quality of life and productivity. Life becomes much more comfortable. At the same time, the majority of successful and popular technological innovations are motivated in their entirety by economic factors rather than political ones. Even among social innovations, techniques for exploiting greed have, in many ways, turned out to be much more compelling than love for one's neighbours.

An analysis of the Iranian agenda in the general context of the set of American foreign policy statements made over the course of the last month shows that the most significant task of the US administration today, given the failure of a quick solution to the problem and the fading relevance of the preceding presidency’s overall policy objectives, is not resolving the Iranian problem as such, but restoring the coalition with Washington’s allies, primarily the European ones, writes Valdai expert Anastasia Likhacheva.

The tactical tasks of adapting Russia to the new situation are directly related to the current crisis: a “turn to the East” is necessary for the transition from economic recession to growth. In this regard, the most important task is to restore and increase the volume of Russian-Asian trade. However, these tactical issues have little to do with macro trends and their solution will not ensure the long-term and successful involvement of Russia in the new Asia, writes Anastasia Likhacheva, Director of the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies (CCEIS) of the Higher School of Economics, who participated in the 11th Valdai Club Asian Conference.

American sanctions methodology necessitates the ethical legitimisation of sanctions: they are not officially introduced with the justification that it is beneficial to the United States. Therefore, the ethical issue will remain, but will soon be spun in a new way, writes Valdai Club expert Anastasia Likhacheva.

A collision of interests is always part of any integration process, growing more dramatic and multidimensional the more comprehensive an integration endeavour becomes. This is particularly clear from the record of the most advanced integration project in history, the European Union, which saw periods of ‘eurosclerosis’, direct sabotage by member countries (e.g. a six-month boycott of the European Commission in 1965–1966 by France), and the failures of the constitutional referendum in the Netherlands and France in May 2005. The main fork in the road for Eurasian integration today is the lack of convenient ‘integration scales’: a deeper integration implies more heated conflicts, and it becomes more difficult to gauge the effects of integration decision-making. However, the main advantage of the existing situation is that it is natural.

When you start to blend sanctions and trade wars, so you want to simultaneously reach foreign policy goals and make some good fortune due to trade wars – you probably lose on both tracks. For Russia and India today is extremely important to tune their priorities and then adjust sanction-resistant solutions.

The Valdai Discussion Club presents its new paper, “National Identity and Russia’s Future,” based on the discussions at the club’s 10th anniversary conference in September 2013 and subsequent work of the expert groups. The paper attempts to answer the most fundamental of questions: Who are the Russians, and what does their future hold?

The report, discussed at the Russian-Chinese section of the Valdai International Discussion Club “Regional Stability Through Harmonious Development: Russia and China in the New World Architecture” on October 25-26, 2010 offers views on the future impact of Russian-Chinese cooperation on global affairs.