| ID | 100329 |
| Title Proper | Partnership for modernization as a key element of Russia-EU cooperation |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Chizhov, V |
| Publication | 2010. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | FIRST OF ALL, I propose dispelling the perception - which, alas, still exists in the West - of the "inability" of Russia's economic and social sectors to modernize themselves and as a result of that, the conclusion that any modernization can only be brought to Russia from the outside. Such delusions are based on the notion - as persistent as it is erroneous - that the West is the main, if not the only source of ideas and keeper of modernization know-how.
In reality, the concept of modernization is not alien to our country, our national character or our history.
Over the past 300 years Russia has been repeatedly confronted with the challenges of modernization - under Peter the Great, who, in a well known expression, "fought barbarity by barbarous methods;" in the mid-19th century, during the dispute between the Slavophiles and "Westerners" as to whether Russia should borrow foreign experience or rely on its "national identity;" and in the 1930s-40s, when the Soviet Union achieved an impressive technological breakthrough but at an excessive price.
So the main distinguishing feature of the current situation, when we are once again facing the challenge of modernization, is not that it has become an imperative for the country's successful economic development. It is that the present conditions, the economic, scientific, technical and especially ideological and legal foundations for modernization differ drastically from those that existed previously. Therefore the task confronting the country now will be dealt with by essentially different means and methods. |
| `In' analytical Note | International Affairs (Moscow) Vol. 56, No. 5; 2010: p.45-49 |
| Journal Source | International Affairs (Moscow) Vol. 56, No. 5; 2010: p.45-49 |
| Key Words | Russia - EU Cooperation ; Modernization ; Russia ; Soviet Union ; Economic Development |