| ID | 087879 |
| Title Proper | Testing ground for modernization and a showcase of success |
| Other Title Information | what should Russia do with Abkhazia and South Ossetia? |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Delyagin, Mikhail |
| Publication | 2009. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Russian support for Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which came about as a result of a number of circumstances, may play the role of a catalyst for Russia's modernization, but the two territories are very different and require different approaches.
A spontaneous development is likely to turn Abkhazia into a Russian health spa and military appendage, and this is unacceptable because it is fraught with complicating relations and losing existing opportunities. Rather than focusing on using Abkhazia as a potential health resort, Russia should build the missing financial and technological elements of its own economy there. By creating instruments of modernization outside its territory - where they would be protected from Russian kleptocracy and monopolies - Russia could see a dress rehearsal of its own modernization.
South Ossetia does not exist as an economic entity due to its small size and extremely low-level management. Russia must bring rudimentary order to South Ossetia's finances and thus lay the groundwork for the reunification of the Ossetian people within the Russian Federation. |
| `In' analytical Note | Russia in Global Affairs Vol. 7, No. 1; Jan-Mar 2009: p140-151 |
| Journal Source | Russia in Global Affairs Vol. 7, No. 1; Jan-Mar 2009: p140-151 |
| Key Words | Testing Ground ; Modernization ; Showcase of Success ; Russia ; Abkhazia ; South Ossetia |