Russia clearly needs to rely on a couple dozen big and prosperous cities capable of developing rapidly in some key areas. These cities are located especially near seas and oceans, and at communication hubs in important border areas. It is equally important that they have a business and political elite with a sense of local patriotism; individuals who are not prepared to jump ship and move to Moscow at any moment, while sending their offspring abroad with the bulk of their capital.
Russia clearly needs to rely on a couple dozen big and prosperous cities capable of developing rapidly in some key areas. These cities are located especially near seas and oceans, and at communication hubs in important border areas. It is equally important that they have a business and political elite with a sense of local patriotism; individuals who are not prepared to jump ship and move to Moscow at any moment, while sending their offspring abroad with the bulk of their capital.
When the Baltic countries entered NATO and the European Union a couple of years ago, many thought it was the end of the centuries-old "red line." Euro-Atlantic organizations had crossed into the former Russian and Soviet empires.
In September 2004, the Russian city of Novgorod hosted an international conference entitled Russia at the Turn of the Century: Hopes and Reality. Its organizers were the RIA Novosti news agency, the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, Russia in Global Affairs, and The Moscow Times.