Russia in Global Affairs

Ukraine’s main chance of entering Europe not as a source of labor force, but as a moderately developed industrialized country will be to go ahead with exports to Russia and other countries where Ukrainian manufactures are in demand.

Russia is in a precarious position: although formally enshrined in legislation, quite legal private property very often is not considered to be legitimate. The “unfair” procedures that brought about the emergence of mammoth private wealth during the privatization period breeds distrust in the authorities, the laws it adopts, and the measures it takes.

The interaction within BRICS has drawn a variety of comments – from sarcasm to the expectation of miracles. But the aggravation of problems with the sustainability of global development in 2008-2013 has brought the role of those states into the limelight to show that global decisions will not be necessarily found inside Bretton-Woods institutions or the OECD.

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.

Attempts to overcome a serious crisis and launch the process of modernization can be compared to trying to climb out of a deep well. Neither the state, nor business nor civil society can climb out on its own. The three forces will only be able to move upward if they realize that they must pool their efforts to transform the country – keeping in mind that they should not climb over each other, or they will fall back down into the well.

Inherent weaknesses of the newly independent countries include not only high social costs and poor product quality, but also a shortage of managerial capital with the experience and abilities required to successfully compete on the global market.

The intricate overlapping of economic ties, corporate relations and political problems has made the issue of Gazprom’s relations with gas consumers in the CIS countries very difficult, and here we have an interesting case where the Russian side is objectively interested in depoliticizing economic relations.

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.

Issues involving the development and modernization of the Russian economy came to the forefront of public debate as Russia recorded its fifth consecutive year of economic growth. Russia has extensive resources but few variants for using them.