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2008

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Moscow: World Bank, 2013

This publication presents unofficial English interpretation of the original Russian versionof the Set of lectures on International Development Cooperation (Содействие международному развитию. Курс лекций / Под редакцией В.И. Бартенева и Е.Н. Глазуновой. Москва: Всемирный банк, 2012.)

The traditional cornerstones of the popularity of the Putin regime – stability, growing prosperity, the increased status of Russia in international affairs – seem to be rapidly eroding, which has led many observers to predict major changes in Russia in the near future. However, there are significant structural issues – alongside the mechanisms of ‘political technology’ and the outright oppression of dissent – that support and maintain the Putin regime, regardless of its malfunctioning and undisputed failings. Even in the unlikely event of Putin suddenly disappearing from the political scene, significant hurdles remain for the restructuring of the Russian economy and political system. No major modernisation or reform mode is to be expected. The EU and Finland should base their policies on a realistic assessment of Russia’s long-term trajectory. There are unlikely to be any shortcuts to success, and no western policy is likely to produce positive results in the short term. What is needed now is a long-term perspective and principled policies, while acknowledging that only the Russians can change Russia’s political direction.

International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 2012

2016

The political, social and economic reforms of the 90s of the last century, along with the activation of such social phenomena as alcoholism, drug addiction, depopulation, etc., gave rise to some processes fundamentally new for Russia-poverty, unemployment, child neglect, forced migration characterized by steady growth of population in need of social support. All these phenomena have identified urgent need to develop a system of measures on social support of the population of Russia, mitigation of negative social consequences of economic reforms. However, the relaxation role the state's role, formation of market mechanisms in the absence of the effective system of social process management in the situation of economic slack, realistic lack of consistency of social policy measures not only failed to alleviate the existing social risks, but often contributed to their increase. The most significant social problems today, despite some improvement in the standard of living of the past...

2005

With a PostScript Written after the Russian Presidential Election of 14 March Michael Emerson* ussia and the EU talk in their summit communiqués about their strategic partnership, but it seems like an awkward partnership. The relationship is not that bad, certainly not life-threatening, but it is not that good either. There is the inevitability of a complex relationship, given proximity and massive complementarity in trade, yet there are huge differences in how the two parties view Europe and the world, and how they behave internationally. The complementarity factor in trade and lifestyle services is a bedrock that binds both parties in a stable relationship at a primary level. Russia exports oil, gas and other energy-intensive materials, which the EU buys in exchange for smart manufactured goods, holidays and secondary residences in the sun for the new Russian middle classes. Young Russians want a normal place in the modern world, both Western and European. All of this is positive, fundamental and durable. It makes a huge change for the better after the dreary decades of ideological hostilities and deadly strategic security threats.