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.
According to media reports, Israel will host Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin in the first few weeks after his inauguration. This will be his second visit to Israel, with the first taking place in 2005. The timing of Putin’s visit, which is scheduled right after a trip to the U.S., has sparked speculation about the meaning of this move.
Russia and Israel share views on terrorism and Islamism. They prefer pragmatic approaches and are disturbed by a prospect of democratization in the Middle East, which would lead to Islamic revival in the whole region. Since Israel is a high-tech-driven and developed country, it can serve as useful source for modernization, badly needed in Russia.
It seems that the question of a possible war on Iran is taking center stage on Russia’s agenda as well. There is evidence of heightened diplomatic activity, along with military preparations and an expanded public debate reflecting differences of opinion within the Russian establishment.
The events in Syria have long become unpredictable, and there are serious apprehensions about the outbreak of civil war. It is probably too late to speak about prospects – the human losses and the scale of bloodshed have already been enormous. The opposition may not be able to achieve national reconciliation and to run a country weakened by fighting.
The cost of a war against Iran – both political and economic – would be too high even for the United States. Iran is a major hub in the Greater Middle East. Once shattered by an ill-advised military operation, that country will spread instability to adjacent states with similar ethic and religious problems, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.
The Libyan war changed the balance of power between the great powers. The structure of the Libyan war was different from NATO military operations in the former Yugoslavia, and even more so from U.S. and allied operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Despite the difficulties and criticisms this policy has given rise to, Russia’s active policy in the region proves that without its involvement, it is virtually impossible to settle a major regional crisis like the one in Syria.
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.
