Author: Abdur Chowdhury, Marquette University
Joining the WTO in 2012 marks the culmination of a long period of transformation for Russia, which first applied for membership in June 1993, and finally had its terms of entry accepted on 16 December.
To join the WTO, Russia has had to overhaul its national laws to bring them into conformity with the global trade regime, and work out bilateral market-opening deals with all other members. Russia has agreed to slash tariffs, get rid of industrial subsidies and allow foreign companies greater access to its domestic market. Read more…
Author: Boris Kheyfets, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russia’s bid to join the WTO was approved on 16 December at long last. This event marked the end of some of the longest negotiations in WTO history, with Russia making its initial decision to join the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade — the precursor to the WTO — in 1993.
But despite the decision to join, domestic debate about the appropriateness of Russia’s membership continues unabated. Read more…
Author: Kirill Muradov, HSE
With the conclusion of the APEC meetings in Honolulu in November, another yearly cycle is about to draw to a close.
Soon all eyes will turn to Russia as the next host, with the 2012 summit scheduled for early September in Vladivostok. Leading APEC will be Russia’s most significant multilateral undertaking since hosting the G8 in 2006. Observers are curious to see what a Russian agenda will entail and what goals will be set for APEC in 2012. Adding to this significance, APEC is the first — and only — major Asia Pacific forum where Russia can hold the chair. Read more…
Author: Shigeki Hakamada, Aoyama Gakuin University
Still months out from Russia’s March 2012 presidential election and it is virtually certain that Vladimir Putin will return to the presidency.
Significantly for Asia, Putin called for the creation of a Eurasian Union shortly after announcing his intention to run. The plan, unveiled in a newspaper article on 4 October, is to achieve EU-style economic integration based on Russia’s customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus that would eventually encompass the whole Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Read more…
Author: Alexander Vorontsov, RAS
The Ulan-Ude summit on 24 August 2011 highlighted Russia and North Korea’s commitment to overcoming the Korean Peninsula nuclear problem — and they must be credited with considerable success.
Kim Jong-il confirmed that North Korea is ready to return to the Six-Party Talks without any preconditions, and both leaders agreed to advance with the construction of a gas pipeline linking Russia and South Korea via North Korea. Read more…
Author: Sergei Sevastianov, VSUES
On 24 August, North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-il, met with President Medvedev during a highly-anticipated visit to Russia.
And it would seem that the meeting in Ulan-Ude may have generated positive changes for security and economic development on the Korean Peninsula — and even the rest of Northeast Asia. Read more…
Author: Kirill Muradov, HSE
Although Russia has intensified its efforts to join the WTO by the end of 2011, membership remains elusive.
This may have direct implications for Russia’s timid free trade undertakings in the Asia Pacific and elsewhere. Read more…
Author: Andrei Lankov, Kookmin University and ANU
In mid-August, the armoured train of the ‘Dear Leader’, Marshall Kim Jong-il once again crossed the Russian border. This time, he did not venture far: the summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev took place in the city of Ulan-Ude.
Among other things, the summit produced a statement about a gas pipeline which is to go through the North to reach the South. Read more…
Author: Aidan Foster-Carter, Leeds University
August found Kim Jong-il on the road again. Travelling only in his trademark armoured train, due to a fear of flying, restricts his choice of destinations considerably.
His previous three trips had all been to China, so it was time for a change. On August 20 Kim’s train crossed the border at Khasan into Russia. Read more…
Authors: Alexander Vorontsov and Oleg Revenko, Russian Academy of Sciences
Kim Jong-il’s recent visit to Russia and his brief meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev in Ulan-Ude continue to stir interest in political circles.
This was the North Korean leader’s first trip to Russia since 2002. Read more…
Author: Leszek Buszynski, IUJ
Russia is going ahead with the purchase of two Mistral class helicopter carriers from France in a deal worth $1.52 billion.
The agreement was signed on 17 June and was proposed when Prime Minister Putin visited France in November 2009. Read more…
Author: Kirill Nourzhanov, ANU
On 17 June, Russia and France signed a €1.2 billion (US$1.7 billion) contract for the delivery of two French-built Mistral class amphibious assault ships to the Russian Navy.
The first warship will be delivered in 2014 and the second in 2015. Read more…
Author: Alexander Vorontsov, Russian Academy of Sciences
During 2010, the nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula played itself out in an intense, unchecked manner in the midst of worsening inter-Korean relations.
At the same time, the mechanisms for resolving, freezing and eventually eliminating its nuclear program were virtually inactive. This applies to both the bilateral formats and the main international tool designed to meet those goals, the six-party talks. Read more…
Author: David Brewster, ANU
Bangladesh’s recent announcement of a deal with Russia to construct its first nuclear reactor marks a broadening of the nuclear gold rush in South Asia.
The latest deal is part of a big expansion of nuclear generation throughout the region. Read more…
Author: Georgy Toloraya, Russian Academy of Science
The old row on the four islands — an eternal irritant in Russian-Japanese relations — broke out rather unexpectedly last November with President Dmitry Medvedev’s spontaneous visit to one of the Islands.
It should be noted that although Russia, in accordance with the 1956 Declaration, agreed in principle to secede to Japan two of the four islands, lost to the USSR as a result of the Second World War, the island the President landed on, Kunashir, was not among them, and is indisputably considered by Russia to be its own territory. Read more…
