July 7, 2009 by Carol Vipperman
Much has been written in the press about the Obama-Medvedev summit this week in Moscow. By now people are analyzing the results, whether or not much was accomplished and whether the Russian people really care about Obama’s visit to Russia.
It is noteworthy that this is the first summit in 7 years and that there was progress on the reduction of nuclear weapons and expanded economic ties. Monday, both Presidents announced the formation of a U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission with working groups that are reminiscent of the former Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission. For those of us in Washington State, we have two locals leading two of the working groups: US Department of Commerce Gary Locke on Business Development and Economic Relations and Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, on the Drug Trafficking Working Group.
FRAEC’s Director of the Russian American Pacific Partnership, Derek Norberg, is in Moscow and attended the Business Summit on Tuesday, July 7th. He gives a more “up close and personal” perspective of what has happened, especially during the business summit itself. He reports that “there does seem a desire to ensure that a positive tone is maintained, even at the expense of addressing the serious issues that are well known to both sides. It is probably an appropriate approach, with US-Russian relations having fallen to such a low level; the re-set deserves a soft start before the real work begins. ” To read his full report, please click here.
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June 11, 2009 by Carol Vipperman
Russia surprised the U.S. and Europe with its decision to withdraw from WTO accession on Thursday to form a three county customs bloc with Belarus and Kazakhstan. Just last week at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, E.U. and Russian leaders were commenting that WTO accession could be possible by the end of the year. Currently Russia is the only major economy outside the 153-member WTO.
This turnaround is being characterized by some as a “ploy” or negotiating tactic, as the Government of Russia has been “frustrated” by the slow process. Sixteen years is a long time. There are key stumbling blocks, namely multilateral issues such as Siberian over-flight fees and gas prices. Also current members, Ukraine and Georgia, have not given their support. President Medvedev, quoted in an article in Forbes, said: ‘there are simply too many jacks in the box in the WTO negotiations’. This does suggest that the Russian government is looking for a quicker process.
Many in the business community, who have advocated for Russia’s inclusion in WTO, are surprised and concerned; they do not see any advantages for Russia to withdraw their application. Some speculate that this move is a result of the impact WTO might have on the Russian economy; that during a difficult economic period, jobs would be at stake. When asked at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum whether or not WTO would hurt Russian businesses, Anatoly Chubais, Rusnano Chairman, was quoted as saying that “80 percent of Russian companies would welcome the accession.” Not all at the forum agreed.
Regardless, most agree that this is complicated and will take time to sort through the implications. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan will hold talks next week in Geneva, so more is to unfold.
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June 5, 2009 by Carol Vipperman
I look for the “not so obvious” stories of what is happening in Russia when I surf the news. Two articles caught my eye recently: “Economic crisis sabotages Russia’s efforts to halt falling population” and “Troubled Kids as Good Publicity”. They may not seem related, but I saw connections.
The first story highlights a recent U.N. study, “National Human Development Report, Russian Federation, 2008: Russia Facing Demographic Challenges”. This report asserts that Russia’s “demographic challenges – including short life expectancy and a shrinking population – must be faced to maintain Russia’s economic and social security.” It lists a number of very important policies and actions that the government and the Russian people must address to stem this serious problem ranging from improved healthy lifestyles, adopting life long education, addressing the pension system, employing youth and aging populations and international migration.
The other story comes on the heels of the celebration of International Children’s Day in Russia on June 1st. People took to the streets across Russia to attract attention to the problems that children face in Russia. There are videos on You Tube of some of the celebrations, but the article focuses on two aspects: the efforts by the Government of Russia to draw attention to the importance of having more children (something the U.N. report addresses) and how one television channel used the opportunity to highlight a charity event sponsored by the channel and airing footage of the President giving awards to spouses raising families with up to 16 children. The author of the article was very critical of the station, basically saying that it was “airing propaganda” and questioned whether promoting a positive image of Russian children would help combat the children’s problems in the country.
So how do I see these as related? It is clear from the U.N. report with its “Address to Readers” by E. Nabiullina, Minister for Economic Development of the Russian Federation, that the Government of Russia considers the falling population as “one of the most acute problems facing Russia”. Encouraging births is one part of the strategy – hence the recognition of families having more babies, but there is much more that needs to be done. It requires that the government and the Russian people recognize the importance of designing and implementing a strategy, as the U.N. report suggests, that harnesses three components: political will, economic resources and appropriate knowledge. And I would add that it means utilizing the many resources available in local communities to assist in improving healthy lifestyles, educating youth and the elder population as well as increasing the awareness and support of people and companies to the importance of charitable giving. Perhaps the television station erred in the direction of being overly positive, however, raising awareness of how everyone can help by supporting charities is important.
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May 27, 2009 by Carol Vipperman
Recently President Medvedev presented the country’s budget to the Duma. Normally the Finance Minister presents budget, so some believe that the President, by being the messenger, wanted to highlight the priority he places on this budget. Russia, as the rest of the world, has been negatively affected by this financial crisis. Higher oil prices and healthy reserves helped Russia grow its economy and its middle class over the last decade, but unfortunately as he acknowledges in his opening remarks, the country and the economy face a difficult situation.
In his remarks he outlines ten principle budget tasks ranging from fulfilling the country’s social spending commitments and making them more targeted (an item he believes the regional authorities should have greater influence) to finding optimum means to support the country’s manufacturing and industrial sectors and finance system, as well as encouraging entrepreneurial activity, promote research and development through tax incentives and an economically justified tax burden. Throughout his list there were calls for modernization and the use of technology to streamline government.
His final priority was of interst – the need to “start working on putting in place a barrier-free environment for people with disabilities and to ratify the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities“. This has been long overdue so I applaud the President for calling this to the attention of the country.
Two years ago during our bilateral Russian American Pacific Partnership (RAPP) meeting, I met a woman who was an advocate for people with disabilities. She herself was disabled and specifically came to our meeting to present her case at RAPP’s transportation sector. She called for prioritizing the needs of people with disabilities and was so convincing that the transportation sector included a recommendation to the Russian government in its sector report. “Access for the physically impaired: Access for people with disabilities living in Russia is extremely difficult. There are few, if any accommodations to allow them to travel with or without assistance. Providing access to travel through airports, on aircraft, on motor coaches, and on trains is critical. All people need to travel in order to get education, medical treatment and develop their personal potential outside their homes. It is imperative that transportation and infrastructure upgrades and developments address accessibility for all people, both able bodied and those with physical limitations.”
Clearly she must be celebrating this budget priority, along with the many other Russian citizens with disabilities that deserve a barrier-free environment.
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April 29, 2009 by Carol Vipperman
There has been much written lately about “resetting” our relationship with Russia including commentary that has been humorous, supportive and at times, skeptical, but most importantly it has brought attention back to why our relationship matters. Ambassador William Burns recently spoke at the Russian World Forum about just this issue. We have worked with Ambassador Burns while he was the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, so his key points really are, in our opinion, right on track. His first point is that Russia matters. He comments that “few nations could make more of a difference to our success than Russia.” Since FRAEC was launched in 1989 we understood this and have worked continuously to create a more secure world in cooperation with Russia.
In his speech, which can be found on the US Department of State website, he outlines his perspective on what needs to happen to ensure a good working relationship. Among the major items, such as addressing nonproliferation and combatting terrorism, he speaks about the importance of continuing our joint efforts to expand Russian-American economic ties, which we applaud.
This has been the focus of FRAEC, in particular through our Russian American Pacific Partnership (RAPP), originally the US-RFE Ad hoc Working Group, once part of the former Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission. For 15 years we have been focusing on our bilateral economic ties by engaging federal, local, business and community leaders in both countries. We have done this during the good, lean and difficult times. For example, we held an emergency meeting in the Russian Far East during the 1998 financial crisis to underscore the importance of our trade relations. We were on Lake Baikal at our RAPP meeting on September 11, 2001, bringing all of us closer together. And in spite of the colder periods during the last few years, our Russian colleagues from government and the private sector continued to find ways to increase our cooperation. So, we welcome the concerted effort to “warm” our relationship, to find practical, mutually beneficial opportunities to cooperate on the larger issues facing the world. Ambassador Burn’s closing comment that it is “vital to get U.S.-Russian relations right” is on the mark.
Posted in US-Russia Relations | 2 Comments »
April 29, 2009 by Carol Vipperman
All of us at the Foundation for Russian American Economic Cooperation, or FRAEC as we are most widely known, are very excited about launching this blog. FRAEC is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and it seems to us to be a great time to hold a conversation with all of you. We will look at what is working in our bilateral relationship and in particular, looking at some of the very best examples of our cooperation. We have many stories, so look here for information and hopefully inspiration.
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One bright spot related to youth was a response from our alum in the 
