4th annual conference of the Middle East Dialogue of the Valdai International Discussion Club, titled “Islam in Politics: Ideology or Pragmatism?”, will take place in Marrakesh, Morocco, on May 14-15.
Issues of commonalities and differences in the Muslim communities of Russia and Canada, as well as problems of their integration into the legal frameworks of their respective countries, were the main topics of discussion at the conference Muslims in Russia, the CIS, and Canada: Cohabitation and Cooperation
The conference Muslims in Russia, the CIS, and Canada: Cohabitation and Cooperation presented by Carleton’ Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, the Department of Political Science, the Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam, and the Valdai Discussion Club is to be held on March 8, 2013 at the Carleton University, Ottawa.
The analytical report “Russia’s Economy: after Transformation, before Modernization” was prepared after discussions at the Valdai Discussion Club Summit held on October 21–22, 2012. The report incorporates many of the conclusions on Russia’s political development contained in the 2011 Valdai report “Russia Should Not Miss Its Chance: Development Scenarios”.
The Russia Development Index (Valdai Index) reflects the combined opinion of the world's leading experts on Russia as regards Russia’s political, economic, social, cultural and international performance. The annual poll aims to study changes in Russia’s development trends over a year. It is important that respondents assess not the current situation, but changes.
The analytical report “Military Reform: Toward the New Look of the Russian Army” summarizes the results of the conference of the Valdai Discussion Club Defense and Security section titled “Modernization of Russia’s Armed Forces and Cooperation in International Security” which was held on May 25-27, 2011 in Moscow.
President Vladimir Putin’s first address to the Federal Assembly since his return to the presidency outlined his vision for the future of Russia. He spoke of morality, Russia’s geopolitical relevance, the importance of education for the country’s development, demographics and the need for economic “restructuring”, a word that has replaced the out-of-vogue “modernisation”.
“Dependence” on an authoritarian regime can be very comfortable: voting on all issues takes only a fraction of a second and any program can be approved. But this can turn out badly for the authorities, because even a small mistake can have catastrophic consequences. The elite have taken over absolutely all functions, which preclude self-regulation.
Putin has changed his policy toward his team. He has come to see that abuses of power and corruption have grown to a scale that threatens the survival of the regime. The recent corruption cases are a signal for the elite that they should temper their appetites or risk imprisonment.
Experts believe that Medvedev used the interview not as an opportunity to tout his accomplishments as prime minister but to maintain and revitalize his image as a dynamic politician who is willing to speak on issues that go beyond his official responsibilities as prime minister.
One year after a wave of social protests rocked Russia’s big cities and political elites, both the protesters and the incumbents are heading into the anniversary of the rallies in completely different conditions — and neither side is exactly comfortable.
What you are seeing now is a consequence of a broader initiative from Vladimir Putin to restore the monopoly of power within his political leadership. He is trying to bring all of the key channels of power and money and influence more closely into his control, at least as far as the government and those people who occupy positions within his pyramid are concerned.
Nationalism exists alongside xenophobia as an ideological and political trend. In Russia xenophobic attitudes are widespread and escalating whereas nationalism as such does not have a very broad base. It has a small group of adherents and negative perceptions of nationalism among the public are widespread. The number of people who reject nationalism is fairly high and stable.
The current contract portfolio of Russian arms exporters is worth about $46 billion. Annual exports total $15 billion, and this will ensure uninterrupted deliveries for the next three years, even in the worst-case scenario. The list of the main buyers of Russian weapons is unlikely to change drastically.
Why did Russian officials choose to make Fogle’s case so public and then insist that it was unlikely to affect U.S.-Russia relations? The official explanation for this is that Moscow had already asked the United States to stop trying to recruit its intelligence officers—which seems like a silly and unrealistic request, since Russian agencies seem unlikely to halt similar steps in the United States—and that officials were frustrated after handling a similar case quietly earlier this year.
Moscow views the incident as falling within the boundaries of traditional rivalry between the secret services of both superpowers.
In light of the present situation in the Middle East, Russia and Israel find themselves facing common challenges. Under these newly emerging situations, Russia sees its partnership with Israel as a potential asset in resolving acute regional issues. From a Russian perspective, the compatibility of Israeli and Russian interests could contribute to such a partnership.
