... regained its military potential at a qualitatively new level and at still tolerable costs. The expansion of Western alliances to the territories Russia considers vital to its security has been stemmed, although it had to pay a dear price for that. The West is developing the long-awaited awareness that Russia’s interests have to be taken into account. This means the basis is being laid for more sound and fairer relations in the future.
Russia is making a turn in the economy and to a certain extent in politics towards booming Asia through the development of Siberia and the Far East, although the turn is belated and slow. Relations of friendship and profound strategic partnership with China have been established. The ...
... people and government sounded more optimistic. What’s your opinion about Russia’s overall economic situation? Has diversification decided by President Vladimir Putin started to bear fruits?
A.K.:
The fundamental problem of the Russian economy is not in the Western sanctions. It is not even in a sharp decline of the global energy prices. In order to move ahead, Russia has to reinvent its model of economic development. The old model designed and assembled in early Putin’s years, has depleted its potential....
... the Crimea annexation—Russia gets Crimea and despised elites are punished too.
Nevertheless, new sanctions on Russia’s financial, energy, and defense sectors in July and September will have growing costs for key companies and the overall economy over time. Moscow’s retaliatory ban on certain Western agricultural imports shows that Russia is ready to engage in a tit-for-tat economic conflict—even though Russian officials recognize the economic asymmetries between their country and the West.
Most importantly, beginning a new chapter is ...
