On May 16, Valdai International Discussion Club held a round-table discussion «Russia and the West: new stage of relationship». The framework of the round table also included a presentation of the Russian edition of Alexander Rahr’s book Where Will Putin Go? Russia Between China and Europe (original title Der kalte Freund. Warum wir Russland brauchen: Die Insider-Analyse).
Following up on the Moscow conference on missile defense and ahead of the NATO summit in Chicago the Valdai Discussion Club convened foreign and Russian experts to discuss the future of Russia-NATO relations.
The fifth conference of the Working Group on the future of Russian-U.S. relations is to be held on May 17 - 20 in Moscow.
The theses contained in the report “Russia should not miss its chance: Development scenarios” were prepared by the working group comprising Russian and international experts ahead of the VIII annual Valdai Discussion Club meeting, themed “2011-2012 Elections and the Future of Russia. Development Scenarios for the Next 5-8 Years”.
The Valdai Index represents the combined opinion of leading world experts that participated in Valdai Club conferences with respect to Russia’s development in the political, economic, social, cultural and international spheres. Download Russia Development Index 2010-2011 in Russian (PDF)
The report examines how the Russia’s and United States` ties with the countries in post-Soviet Eurasia affect the bilateral relationship. The authors argue that despite the initial successes of the “reset” in Russia-U.S. relations, disputes relating to post-Soviet Eurasia represent “a ‘landmine’ in Russia -U.S. relations that could ‘detonate’ at any time and seriously complicate cooperation on other issues.
The high price of oil ensured higher revenue than was projected. But, unlike in previous years, the Finance Ministry is spending government money in compliance with the schedule without delay or underfinancing. But this is only true about the total, not about specific expenditure items.
Russia is one of the world’s largest energy suppliers and players on the energy market. It produces 9.6% of the world’s primary energy and annually invests about 4.5% of its GDP in the energy sector. Therefore, it needs to make regular and thorough analyses of global energy markets for purposes of national strategic planning and corporate investment.
Russia’s accession to WTO will affect Russian industrial producers, but will at the same time benefit consumers through lower duties and stronger market competition. Therefore, Russia’s membership in the WTO will optimize people’s spending rather than increase their incomes.
The rapid growth of the super-rich in Russia is not accompanied by solid development, to say nothing of modernization. The money spent on luxurious yachts, foreign sports teams, palaces all over the world is money that can’t be invested in Russia’s development – road construction, upgrading rundown utilities, restoration of the countryside and the creation of modern jobs.
Strategy-2020 is an ill-fated document. Implementing this strategy would mean a new round of liberal reforms in Russia, causing the destruction of its social environment and the economy. However, this may come to pass because Russian liberals, the foot soldiers of global business, are influential and almost fully control socio-economic policy.
The most important effect on the Russian economy from the European crisis is the tightening of the credit conditions. Since summer last year it is much more difficult for the Russian corporate banking sector to borrow abroad, compared to say 12-18 months ago. As a result many Russian companies and banks have to repay old debts while not being able to borrow new ones.
Russia’s top leadership is unprepared for negative developments, showing a surprising complacency, with revival of the smug ‘safe haven’ rhetoric which was a feature of the run up to the crisis of autumn 2008.
On May 7, a few hours after his presidential inauguration, Vladimir Putin signed a decree for a strategic program on the development of Russian education. One of its chief aims is to ensure that a number of Russian universities enter the ranking of the world’s top 100 universities.
The aim of the protests was quite simple. The political process behind the demonstrations against Vladimir Putin and for fair elections has now become irreversibly transformed into a technological one.
For Washington, Putin’s doubts about the G-8’s capacity to accomplish anything significant and his close relations with China should turn on the red light with regards to the hallowed U.S.-Russian “reset” policy.
In the Muslim community in Russia actual religious and spiritual problems are fading into the background, while the clergy are focused on fighting for leadership and their own financial wellbeing.
