Valdai Club

The tragic cataclysms that Russia has lived through in the 20th and 21st centuries were largely, and not least of all, due to the complex and dramatic history of Russian cities’ development. The current situation stands apart in that, perhaps for the first time in Russian history, the forces of urban civilisation are, in the worst case, equal, or possibly even exceed the forces and capabilities of its opponents, writes Andrey Bystritskiy, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club.

All human progress seems to be aimed at making our lives easier, writes Valdai Club Chairman Andrey Bystritskiy. Of course, we managed to achieve certain successes in this area. But how stable are they? What are the most important, most dangerous challenges for all of us on this globe?

The global role of the West has drastically changed. From world leadership and world domination (regardless of the moral or political assessment of this), the West has moved, at best, to active defence, to defend what it considers to be its own, writes Valdai Club Chairman Andrey Bystritskiy.

We have moved into the zone of a new confrontation, and so far, we cannot even clearly define its boundaries. It seems that the new confrontation is primarily associated with an understanding of the future and the role of people in its creation, writes Valdai Club Chairman Andrey Bystritskiy. The article is published as part of the Valdai Club’s Think Tank project, continuing the collaboration between Valdai and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy.

The Big Data collected about us turns out to be quite double-edged. In the hands of a doctor, it can help prolong our life, and in the hands of a swindler or manipulator, it can make it hell, writes Andrey Bystritskiy, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club. The article is published as part of the Valdai Club’s Think Tank project, continuing the collaboration between Valdai and the Argentine Council of International Relations (CARI).

It is difficult to imagine a more controversial and, at the same time, promising region of the world than the Middle East. But this region was once the cradle of human civilisation, and it continues to play a role in its development, writes Valdai Club Chairman Andrey Bystritskiy.

The general feeling of disharmony and lack of mutual understanding throughout the world is increasing. This is not only (and not so much) due to disagreements, for example, between countries, but due to a growing rift in values, in the understanding of where we are all going and why, as well as what kind of civilisation we want in the modern world.

Apparently, Internet regulation is inevitable. The question is, what will this regulation be, who will implement it, and how, writes Valdai Club Chairman Andrey Bystritskiy.

Tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis. Indeed, times they are a-changing, and we change with them. We can only hope that its for the better. However, the first days of the third decade of the 21st century lead one to doubt that the world, at least, has not rushed into the abyss.

We are faced with the threat of a kind of “war of all against all”, a global, world civil war, a multidimensional matrix of conflicts of different origins. Moreover, there is a suspicion that the ability of the world’s elites to settle, and resolve even the most acute conflicts will not be enough to achieve a positive result, writes Valdai Club Chairman Andrey Bystritskiy.