Russia in Global Affairs

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RSCI Scopus

No. 4

2009 October/December

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Contents

A Different View on the European Anniversary

Fyodor A. Lukyanov

Without Ideology or Order

Timofei V. Bordachev

Policy Transformation

Viatcheslav Morozov

Assimilating Experience

Tradition Breaks Reform

Missing in Translation

Piotr Dutkiewicz

Russia’s Future: Nation or Civilization?

Igor A. Zevelev

Where Is the “Pilot Region” Heading?

Twenty Years of Drifting Apart

Nikolai Silayev

Once Again about a New Entente

Yevgeny Savostyanov

Arctic Diplomacy

Alexander Oreshenkov

Who Is to Blame?

Fyodor Shelov-Kovedyaev

Financial Architecture: Urgent Repair

Leonid Grigoriev, Marcel R. Salikhov

The Road Map of an Anti-Crisis Strategy

Vyacheslav Kopiev

“Everything must be carried through to the end”

Mikhail S. Gorbachev

Articles

A Different View on the European Anniversary

Europe recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the anti-Communist revolution that put an end to the division of the world into two ideological blocs. The events of 1989 opened a new chapter in global politics; however, even two decades later, the full content of this chapter remains unclear.

Fyodor A. Lukyanov

Without Ideology or Order

The greatest achievement in Russian foreign policy over the past 20 years has been the renunciation of messianism. Yet today Russia has to choose again between a policy based on global ideas, one that is mainly pursued by the United States, and sovereign pragmatism, which is characteristic of the foreign policies of China, India, and – increasingly – Europe.

Timofei V. Bordachev

Policy Transformation

Like any social and cultural form, the era of Russia’s exclusion from Europe is not endless and will be over one day; this issue may even lose its pressing character (for instance, if the center of the global world shifts to Asia). Still, the current situation shows an amazing stability and we Europeans just do not have enough political imagination to eradicate this standoff.

Viatcheslav Morozov

Assimilating Experience

The Soviet Union had been a model for China in terms of systemic development, even though international relations between China and the Soviet Union practically broke off in the 1960s. Thus, nothing could be more sweeping in Chinese mentality than the demise of its tutor, the Soviet Union.

Tradition Breaks Reform

Russian society tends to form tiers of mafias through the actions of the principles of hierarchy and rank-worship on the one hand, and adolescent group solidarity on the other, with the upper-ruling mafia as the occupational force.

Missing in Translation

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.

Piotr Dutkiewicz

Russia’s Future: Nation or Civilization?

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.

Igor A. Zevelev

Where Is the “Pilot Region” Heading?

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.

Twenty Years of Drifting Apart

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.

Nikolai Silayev

Once Again about a New Entente

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.

Yevgeny Savostyanov

Arctic Diplomacy

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.

Alexander Oreshenkov

Who Is to Blame?

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.

Fyodor Shelov-Kovedyaev

Financial Architecture: Urgent Repair

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.

Leonid Grigoriev, Marcel R. Salikhov

The Road Map of an Anti-Crisis Strategy

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.

Vyacheslav Kopiev

“Everything must be carried through to the end”

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.

Mikhail S. Gorbachev