The Arab Spring has shifted the balance in the Middle East, highlighting new problems and challenges for Russia and other regional and extra-regional powers.
Russia’s Sochi played host to the Valdai Discussion Club Middle East section’s conference “Transformation in the Arab World and Russia’s Interests” on February 17-18, 2012.
The Valdai International Discussion Club held the Moscow-Astana videoconference “Elections in Kazakhstan and the outlook for Eurasian integration” at the RIA Novosti press center.
The theses contained in the report “Russia should not miss its chance: Development scenarios” were prepared by the working group comprising Russian and international experts ahead of the VIII annual Valdai Discussion Club meeting, themed “2011-2012 Elections and the Future of Russia. Development Scenarios for the Next 5-8 Years”.
The Valdai Index represents the combined opinion of leading world experts that participated in Valdai Club conferences with respect to Russia’s development in the political, economic, social, cultural and international spheres. Download Russia Development Index 2010-2011 in Russian (PDF)
The report examines how the Russia’s and United States` ties with the countries in post-Soviet Eurasia affect the bilateral relationship. The authors argue that despite the initial successes of the “reset” in Russia-U.S. relations, disputes relating to post-Soviet Eurasia represent “a ‘landmine’ in Russia -U.S. relations that could ‘detonate’ at any time and seriously complicate cooperation on other issues.
02/21/201211:34 What will shape Medvedev’s legacy? The reset with the US which culminated in the ratification of a new Start treaty and Russian accession to the WTO?
01/12/201216:21 Russia will have to face certain challenges in the economic sphere in order to solve the problems of economic modernization. In the short term, one of the important things for Russia is what is going on in Europe, because if there is a deep recession in Europe, which is possible, there is no doubt that Russia will suffer as well because of its external trade relations with the European market.
12/26/201112:16 The president’s address to the Federal Assembly is interesting primarily as a response to the rally at Bolotnaya Square. Everything else appears somewhat vague. When someone is leaving the political arena, whatever they might say will not be very interesting. Even if some of his ideas will be carried out, they will be carried out by other people and in an entirely new context.
12/17/201111:24 The Working Group on the Future of U.S.-Russia Relations held its fourth meeting on December 16 and 17 in Moscow. Along with reviewing the current state of bilateral relations and their future through the lenses of the electoral cycles in Russia and the United States, the meeting addressed Russian-U.S. cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
12/05/201117:04 The situation in Asia has changed dramatically. We should be able to better understand the historical chances not only for Russian-Chinese bilateral relations, but also for regional and even global affairs.
11/28/201112:33 Why does Russia want to underline the failure of the talks? Because otherwise an unspoken assumption could emerge that the mere existence of discussions somehow legitimizes the US project, and that it has Russia’s tacit agreement. Now Medvedev has highlighted that the problem remains on the table and that it will be impossible to remove or bypass by ignoring its existence.
11/21/201111:23 Vyacheslav Nikonov, CEO, Russkiy Mir Foundation, Dean, School of Public Administration, Moscow State University, took part in the eighth annual conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club. The theme of the conference was “The 2011-2012 Elections and the Future of Russia: Development Scenarios for the Next 5-8 Years.”
11/21/201111:20 Sergey Dubinin, Member of the Board, VTB Capital Investment Business VTB Group, took part in the eighth annual conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club. The theme of the conference was “The 2011-2012 Elections and the Future of Russia: Development Scenarios for the Next 5-8 Years.”
11/18/201110:20 Ruslan Grinberg, Director of the Institute of Economics, Russian Academy of Sciences, took part in the eighth annual conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club. The theme of the conference was “The 2011-2012 Elections and the Future of Russia: Development Scenarios for the Next 5-8 Years.”
11/18/201110:14 Robert Legvold, Director, Euro-Atlantic Security Initiative, Columbia University, took part in the eighth annual conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club. The theme of the conference was “The 2011-2012 Elections and the Future of Russia: Development Scenarios for the Next 5-8 Years.”
