Russian Society

The Caspian region has been at the center of attention since Europe began seeking alternative routes to natural-gas resources. Turkmenistan has the potential to become an important gas exporter to Europe.

To understand corporate corruption in Russia and to develop both anti-corruption policies at the macro level and anti-corruption strategies at the enterprise level effectively we need to move beyond the predominant corruption paradigm and to disaggregate its measurement. The article outlines the results of a pilot survey of CEO of companies operating in Russian regions with regard of their use of informal practices.

This article addresses the key features and the state of research in Russian higher education establishments. It examines measures taken to support research in universities and to integrate R&D with higher education since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Even though Russia's economy has returned to growth-on the back of higher oil prices-the financial crisis of 2008-09 will continue to reverberate across Russian politics and foreign policy. Domestically, the crisis has called into question the "social bargain" of the Putin years. It has also complicated President Dmitry Medvedev's push for economic liberalization and modernization.

Russia is facing demographic challenges that are common to all developed countries, but significantly aggravated by a range of historic circumstances that have become highly unfavorable over the course of many demographic processes. Among the main challenges are very high mortality, very low fertility and, as a result, the continued negative natural increase and overall population decline in the country. Now, these challenges are exacerbated by new ones, connected with a worsening age balance, the decrease in working-age population and the growth of dependency ratio, especially as a consequence of an ageing population.

Even if an active and effective demographic and migration policy were to be implemented in Russia, it would be impossible to reach the fundamental turning point in the demographic situation-stabilization and growth in Russia's population-in the near future. For this reason, a sound policy should involve striving for change in areas that can, in principle, be changed (decrease in mortality, some growth in fertility, attraction and integration of a reasonable number of migrants), and, at the same time, adapting economic and social institutions to those elements of the new demographic reality that cannot be changed (decrease in population, ageing population, etc.).

This article outlines the developments in Russian-American cooperation in the area of higher education since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It reveals the fundamental problems that have arisen in this partnership and draws conclusions about the necessity of moving away from technical aid towards a new model of cooperation between Russia and the United States in this sphere. It makes practical recommendations for the more effective integration of Russian universities into the global educational space.

The higher education reform underway in Russia is part of a much broader state reform project. Launched in 2004 at the start of Vladimir Putin's second term, this "administrative reform" grants the federal state the means to reclaim the public sphere, which largely escaped from its control during the 1990s. Energy incomes having considerably improved the public finances in the 2000s, the state can now consider reinvesting in and restructuring the public sphere as a whole. Its involvement cannot be seen as the construction of a "welfare state," but comes rather closer to an entrepreneurial state at the head of sectorial trusts aiming to be competitive on global markets. Such as it appears today, the restructuring of higher education is key to understanding how the formation of this entrepreneurial state is conceived and what possible structural uncertainties could arise.

This paper is based on the seminar presentation "Higher Education in Russia, Potential and Challenges," which took place on 28 January 2008 at the Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri).

Russia's higher education (HE) reform, begun 15 years ago, was intended to provide a response to the challenges of the new post-industrial, high-tech economic development model. During the course of the reform, many of the negative features inherited from the Soviet period (ideologization, complete state-ownership of assets, excessive centralization of decision-making) were overcome. However, many characteristics of the Soviet system have turned out to be highly resilient, right up to today: the separation of science and education, the socio-humanitarian science sector remaining behind the natural and technical sciences, and the gap between the "elitist" and the "mass" segments. In the initial stages, the problems of reform were forced into the background, behind the much more acute problem of survival. The real window of opportunity did not appear until the start of Vladimir Putin's second term as president, when favorable economic (potential to increase budget financing) and political (consolidation of the team of reformers) conditions were created.

This paper is based on the seminar presentation "Higher Education in Russia, Potential and Challenges," which took place on 28 January 2008 at the Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri).

In terms of higher education, Russia displays indicators worthy of enthusiasm: a high level of people benefiting from higher education, an increase in the number of students and the multiplication in the number of higher education establishments. Higher education is increasingly in demand, since diplomas have both professional and social value. This educational boom seems to correspond to the Russian authorities' declared aim to develop a 'knowledge economy'. After a period of crisis during the 1990s, public policy in this domain is gaining strength. Nevertheless, questions remain unanswered: will this policy be pursued after the presidential elections of March 2008 and will it be able to take on the challenge that Russian growth represents?

This paper is based on the seminar presentation "Higher Education in Russia, Potential and Challenges", which took place on 28 January 2008 at the Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri).

Due to its Soviet legacy, Russia has gained a reputation for having a well-trained population and efficient educational system. The facts on the ground are obviously more ambiguous, however. The veritable 'boom' of higher education and the good results of some well-known universities hide the more general fall of average performances and the devaluation of diplomas. Efforts to reform the system are meeting both structural constraints and corruption practices within the educational community. This makes a genuine assessment of Russian degrees dufficult to achiev. In addition, the 'privatization' of large sections of the education system has rendered the problem of inequality of access even more acute.

This article analyses the evolution of human resources in the field of research since the end of the Soviet era, with particular focus on the phenomenon of the ever-increasing age of experts, the divide into the scientific community and the 'brain drain'. Public policy in the area of managing human resources and its results are examined against this backdrop. A set of recommandations is formulated in conclusion.