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| "Everything must be carried through to the end" |
Mikhail Gorbachev
In our transition to democracy we are somewhere in the middle, still far away. We, a country in transition, have not understood what freedom is and how to use it. We do not use democratic institutions in earnest. We must focus on the development of our country, so that people can be proud of it. |
| The Road Map of an Anti-Crisis Strategy |
Vyacheslav Kopiev
The cynicism of economic nationalism is manifested primarily in appeals to
buy domestic products. Meanwhile, the ability of domestic manufacturers to produce products that would meet the growing requirements of buyers
directly depends on their involvement in the international division of labor. |
| Financial Architecture: Urgent Repair |
Leonid Grigoriev & Marsel Salikhov
Russia’s role in the world financial architecture is unlikely to be as significant as many would wish it to be, but given sensible alliances and compromises, it may become quite sufficient for protecting its national interests. The current situation should be used to modernize Russia’s own financial system, increase its resistance to external shocks, and its ability to convert internal savings into domestic investments in development. |
| Who Is to Blame? |
Fyodor Shelov-Kovediayev
Although all the markets have actually turned into financial ones, there is no reliable theory that would explain how they function; even the leaders of the financial world had a feeble idea about the specificity of the new financial instruments. It appears that the theory of long-term economic cycles has grown outdated, while the theory of real cycles does not have a practical value. |
| Arctic Diplomacy |
Alexander Oreshenkov
An analysis of the historical and legal aspects of the current sovereign jurisdiction of land surface areas that serve as points of departure in measuring the boundaries of exclusive economic zones and the continental shelf beyond them may have significance for the delimitation of maritime areas between Russia and its Arctic neighbors. |
| Once Again about a New Entente |
Yevgeny Savostyanov
Recent developments in the world make it necessary to focus on a dramatic revision of Russian-U.S. relations on a scope not seen before. Russia, the world’s largest country with immense resources, and the U.S., the richest, most powerful and advanced country in the world, have no immanent contradictions. There are no insurmountable obstacles against building a full-scale partnership. |
| Twenty Years of Drifting Apart |
Nikolai Silayev
The logic of Realpolitik pushes Russia not towards defining for itself the limits to restricting the sovereignty of neighbors, but towards taking as much sovereignty from its neighbors as – using Yeltsin’s famous metaphor – it can swallow. This approach rules out long-term agreements. |
| Where Is the “Pilot Region” Heading? |
Vadim Smirnov
The Kaliningrad Region can be called a “war child.” Eastern Prussia with its capital Koenigsberg would not have had such a knotty history if Germany had not lost World War II. After the breakup of the Soviet Union the region found itself in completely new and hitherto unseen geopolitical conditions. |
| Russia’s Future: Nation or Civilization? |
Igor Zevelev
To build a real civic identity, a nation must have legitimate and, desirably, historically grounded borders, as well as stable and effective state institutions. The all-Russian nation within the present borders of the Russian Federation is young, unstable and weak. Regular elections, political parties, common social and economic problems, and politics could gradually become a shell for a new political nation. |
| Missing in Translation |
Piotr Dutkiewicz
The lack of real modernization policies of the last four to five years cannot be continued without serious, negative, long-term consequences. The only good thing about the current crisis is that no one can deny the necessity for accelerated change and the need for a larger, societal debate about the future of the country. |
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