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.
05/02/201208:17 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.
03/30/201212:15 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.
03/12/201210:34 Putin has to decide whether he has to get rid of some people, how many, who and so on. Or he can ignore this public demand for new faces and bring his own team, his St. Petersburg team, or the people who have been around him for the past 20 years, and keep them, ignoring the public mood for changes in government.
02/02/201210:42 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.
01/19/201216:57 Russia can produce anything it wants. Global competition allows new players who can offer something better to establish themselves on the market. But Russia does not have the political will and is not making the administrative efforts necessary to achieve an innovation breakthrough.
01/12/201216:21 Russia will have to face certain challenges in the economic sphere in order to solve the problems of economic modernization. In the short term, one of the important things for Russia is what is going on in Europe, because if there is a deep recession in Europe, which is possible, there is no doubt that Russia will suffer as well because of its external trade relations with the European market.
01/10/201210:08 Russia’s economic role will more likely be to create demand for products and services produced in the EU, along with other emerging markets fulfilling their WTO commitments. To do that, Russia needs special agreements with the European Union, which effectively operates as a customs union.
11/17/201110:54 Anatol Lieven, Chair of international relations and terrorism studies, King’s College London, took part in the eighth annual conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club. The theme of the conference was “The 2011-2012 Elections and the Future of Russia: Development Scenarios for the Next 5-8 Years.”
11/17/201110:43 Alexander Rahr, Program Director, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), took part in the eighth annual conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club. The theme of the conference was “The 2011-2012 Elections and the Future of Russia: Development Scenarios for the Next 5-8 Years.”
11/11/201111:21 Right now there are all indications that no plunge in oil prices is on the cards. Slow economic growth is not a recession. Speculations concerning a second wave of the crisis are about a potential recession. But no recession is in view.
