Long-lasting change?
The European Union this week said it was finally ready to recognize Russia as a nation with a market economy, a step seen as crucial to this country's economic development and a major accomplishment for President Vladimir Putin.
Jun 05, 2002
The European Union this week said it was finally ready to recognize Russia as a nation with a market economy, a step seen as crucial to this country's economic development and a major accomplishment for President Vladimir Putin. Of course, Russia did not get everything it wanted out of the summit - in particular, the right for Russian citizens to travel visa-free between Kaliningrad Oblast and the rest of the country through future EU territory - but these developments can be regarded as definite progress.
Just the fact that European governments are beginning to accept the reality of the situation in Russia is a welcome sign.
It would certainly have been difficult to call Russia of the 1990s a market economy. At that time, Russia had little in common with a free-market country - unless, of course, one defines that as a place ruled by cronyism, corruption, state handouts in payments, blind plundering and chaos.
Things have changed. This is not to say that all of the vicious and well-known features of the Yeltsin era are gone - it would require colossal ignorance or disingenuousness to claim that corruption is no longer a problem in Russia - but they certainly do seem to have subsided. Most of the more egregious of the non-market practices have stopped. As Andrei Illarionov, economic adviser to the president, has noted, the U.S. decision to impose tariffs on Russian steel can be interpreted as a de facto admission that Russia has a market economy.
In many cases, slapping double standards and retaliatory measures upon that bad old non-market Russia have had more to do with the desire to protect interests in domestic economies than an objective appraisal of the situation in the country.
A much more striking change is Putin's desire to integrate Russia with the West. This strategy is in the best interests of both Russia and Western nations, which no longer need to worry about Russia as a potential threat.
The speed with which the West, or most of it, has moved to work more closely with Russia is also remarkable. Just a short while ago, the European Union's attitude toward Russia was one of uneasy annoyance defined by worries over crime, corruption and the possibility of Russia's economy destabilizing those of its neighbors, including Poland. The European Union is to be commended for its new realism and willingness to move in a new direction.
Now that Europe has made this move, it is time for others to come along as well. U.S. President George Bush claims he wants to recognize Russia as a market economy in preparation for its accession to the WTO, and he most likely means it. Thus far, domestic political infighting in the United States has kept this from talking place. But we are confident that this will not be true forever.
The "war on terrorism" and general geopolitical stability in the world - Russia borders on all major centers of global power: Europe, the United States, China, Japan and the Muslim world - require that Russia and its natural allies in the West cooperate more closely and fully. The old mentality of us vs. them, in which each side saw the other as the root of all evil and an enemy to be opposed and undermined, has to be made a thing of the past.
The last two weeks have seen the Russia-U.S. summit, in which Putin and Bush did everything but kiss; the establishment of the NATO-Russia council, which appears to hold much more promise than the Joint Security Council ever did - and now the Russia-EU summit, which has ended on a high note. Tensions between East and West are at a low point, while the desire to cooperate is running high. With luck - and a great deal of effort, trust and diplomacy from everyone concerned - this is something we hope will pass the test of time.
Just the fact that European governments are beginning to accept the reality of the situation in Russia is a welcome sign.
It would certainly have been difficult to call Russia of the 1990s a market economy. At that time, Russia had little in common with a free-market country - unless, of course, one defines that as a place ruled by cronyism, corruption, state handouts in payments, blind plundering and chaos.
Things have changed. This is not to say that all of the vicious and well-known features of the Yeltsin era are gone - it would require colossal ignorance or disingenuousness to claim that corruption is no longer a problem in Russia - but they certainly do seem to have subsided. Most of the more egregious of the non-market practices have stopped. As Andrei Illarionov, economic adviser to the president, has noted, the U.S. decision to impose tariffs on Russian steel can be interpreted as a de facto admission that Russia has a market economy.
In many cases, slapping double standards and retaliatory measures upon that bad old non-market Russia have had more to do with the desire to protect interests in domestic economies than an objective appraisal of the situation in the country.
A much more striking change is Putin's desire to integrate Russia with the West. This strategy is in the best interests of both Russia and Western nations, which no longer need to worry about Russia as a potential threat.
The speed with which the West, or most of it, has moved to work more closely with Russia is also remarkable. Just a short while ago, the European Union's attitude toward Russia was one of uneasy annoyance defined by worries over crime, corruption and the possibility of Russia's economy destabilizing those of its neighbors, including Poland. The European Union is to be commended for its new realism and willingness to move in a new direction.
Now that Europe has made this move, it is time for others to come along as well. U.S. President George Bush claims he wants to recognize Russia as a market economy in preparation for its accession to the WTO, and he most likely means it. Thus far, domestic political infighting in the United States has kept this from talking place. But we are confident that this will not be true forever.
The "war on terrorism" and general geopolitical stability in the world - Russia borders on all major centers of global power: Europe, the United States, China, Japan and the Muslim world - require that Russia and its natural allies in the West cooperate more closely and fully. The old mentality of us vs. them, in which each side saw the other as the root of all evil and an enemy to be opposed and undermined, has to be made a thing of the past.
The last two weeks have seen the Russia-U.S. summit, in which Putin and Bush did everything but kiss; the establishment of the NATO-Russia council, which appears to hold much more promise than the Joint Security Council ever did - and now the Russia-EU summit, which has ended on a high note. Tensions between East and West are at a low point, while the desire to cooperate is running high. With luck - and a great deal of effort, trust and diplomacy from everyone concerned - this is something we hope will pass the test of time.