BOOKMARKS
www.russiaprofile.org Unwrapping the Mystery Inside the Enigma
www.pircenter.org The Center for Policy Studies in Russia
RUSSIA INDIA REPORT
07
eng.globalaffairs.ru Journal on foreign affairs and international relations
IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA, RUSSIA
www.cdi.org/russia/johnson Johnson's Russia List
THE ECONOMIC TIMES WEDNESDAY_MARCH 18_2009 Opinion
A RUSSIA-US “RESET BUTTON”
Letters to the Editor
India needs Russia sia and vice versa. I hope the
FOR AFGHANISTAN?
India needs to continue its Russian government pro-
economic association with motes tourism for others to
Russia which will consoli- visit Russia and initiates
date its military progress in some sponsors in this regard
the development of high tech as well. This newspaper
weaponry. India needs such should concentrate on pub-
PYOTR GONCHAROV
weapons to assert itself mil- lishing more international
RIA NOVOSTI itarily over the unstable news and also encourage
events in Pakistan. more Russians to read and
A conference on Afghanistan sponsored OWEN LINDSAY speak English so tourism in
by the Shanghai Co-operation Organisa-
VIA E-MAIL
Russia grows and there are
tion (SCO) will be held in Moscow on 27 fewer barriers.
March. The SCO includes Russia, China, Business education KAMALAKAR C
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and I was very happy to read your
VIA E-MAIL
Uzbekistan. Iran, India, Mongolia and Russia India Report as a sup-
Pakistan hold observer status. plement of the Economic Hillary Clinton and hints
This event will be followed by a UN con- Times. I consider this as a of hope
ference on Afghanistan. While the Mos- very useful tool in further de- U.S.-Russia economic-mil-
cow meeting was organised some time veloping the relations be- itary-strategic issues should
ago, this American initiative was an- tween our two countries. be solved with great care.
nounced by Secretary of State Hillary I was, in particular, attracted Regarding the Georgian
Clinton only recently, during the informal by your article on "Business confl ict, U.S. diplomatic be-
meeting of 26 NATO foreign ministers in Knowledge Par Excellence" haviour with Russia was not
early March. and the interview with the good. I hope the present
The fi rst reaction might have been that dean of Skolkovo School, Obama administration and
Hillary decided to torpedo the Moscow Prof Andrei Volkov. I am very Secretary of State Hillary
initiative. However, the situation cleared impressed by his vision and Clinton will understand the
up during a meeting in Geneva where his actions in developing bilateral issues and develop
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov business school education. high-profi le diplomatic re-
and the US Secretary of State pressed a
DRAWING BY DMITRY DIVIN
S P GOEL lations with Russia. It
symbolic “reset button” in Russian-
VIA E-MAIL
should receive equal and
American relations. more respectable diplomacy
At a press conference, Lavrov said stabi- itself to beefi ng up its contingent there. The lamentable Soviet experience in Af- some police and army functions. But that Fight isolationism from the US and also Eu-
lisation in Afghanistan was a common But what about the rest of the problem? ghanistan clearly haunts the US and is not all. The sad Soviet experience high- I fail to understand why the rope, because Russia can
task.“W e have agreed we will contribute Now France, following the US, is talking NATO. As the French envoy said recently, lighted other factors that cannot be ig- people of Russia don’t mingle only balance American geo-
to the forthcoming SCO conference on about the need to revise Afghanistan “The West is in real danger of getting nored. First is the need for dialogue be- with other countries’ people strategic interests in Europe
combating terrorist and narcotic threats strategy. The new French presidential bogged down there, but at the same time, tween central government and the re- and instead maintain dis- and the rest of the world. I
emanating from Afghanistan, and co-op- envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, it cannot curtail its presence and leave.” gions. Second is close co-operation with tance from others. I think this hope Hillary Clinton will re-
erate towards the success of another con- Pierre Lellouche, said recently that a re- This year may see a turning point in the neighbouring countries. These two fac- particular aspect is widening shape foreign policy to-
ference in Europe at the end of March, at vision of French policy regarding Afghan- Afghan government’s confrontation with tors are still weak links in handling of the the distance between Russia wards Russia and improve
the initiative of the United States.” istan would call for a “proper balance” be- its militant opposition, due to the new US Afghan problem. and world. Even though Rus- relations with Russia.
Previously, NATO and the US resented any tween military and civilian aid. strategy which envisages increasing US The former US Secretary of State Henry sia has its own culture, let the ANIL KUMAR UPADHYAYA
attempts by Moscow to involve SCO coun- That dilemma is a real headache for the and NATO troops and creation of Afghan Kissinger believes co-operation with world also learn about Rus-
VIA E-MAIL
tries in co-operation on Afghanistan. Westin dealing with the problem. As self-defence forces. These measures are Russia and Pakistan is essential for the
However, whether the Pentagon and Brus- Pierre Lellouche has said, the lack of a certainly needed and probably sound. As success of peacekeeping in Afghanistan.
sels like it or not, the situation there is single Western plan of civilian assistance the Soviet experience and the current sit- One wonders if the “reset” of Russian-
evolving in a way that makes working has resulted in a “total mess”. The Afghan uation show, the ISAF (International Se- American relations will cover the rela-
with Afghanistan’s neighbours, i.e. the people “are caught between Taliban ter- curity Assistance Force) needs about 140– tions with the SCO.
- The polls
SCO, practically inevitable. ror on the one hand, and the country’s 170,000 peacekeepers to strengthen sta-
The US and NATO are in a quandary over government, which is vainly seeking aid bility in Afghanistan, while regional self- Pyotr Goncharov is a political columnist
Afghanistan. Yes, the US has committed from the West, on the other”. defence forces would temporarily assume for RIA Novosti. Job seeking: Russians generally don’t consider employ-
ment services useful, preferring personal connections
IN THE SEARCH FOR WORK, RUSSIANS ARE MORE INCLINED TO TURN TO
BRIC’S NEW ASIAN CHESS GAME
FRIENDS AND RELATIVES WHILE AGENCIES ARE LARGELY IGNORED, AC-
CORDING TO A NEW POLL BY THE RUSSIAN PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH
CENTRE, VTSIOM; RESPONDENTS GAVE UP TO THREE ANSWERS EACH
IN YOUR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE, HOW HAVE YOU SEARCHED FOR A JOB?
BORIS VOLKHONSKY Japan, South Korea and ASEAN coun- dictum laid down by Deng Xiaoping say- between India and the US that took place
EXPERT
tries in order to contain China. ing ‘hide your ambitions and disguise under George W. Bush. The government re-
Yet Brzezinski’s idea about a G2 raises lit- your claws’.” gards it as a positive development achieved
Kyrgyzstan’s decision to shut the US mil- tle enthusiasm in China. According to Pu Understandably, the Chinese indignantly through its efforts. Yet, this conciliation
itary base at Manas and the Collective Qihua, a research assistant at the Insti- reject the idea of an anti-China union with the US, and the nuclear deal as its
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) tute of World Socialism in Beijing,“Ther e headed by the US. According to Chung Ch- core component, ignited a torrent of criti-
summit resolution of 4 February to cre- is little chance that a G2 will ever be es- ien-peng, Professor at the Department of cism from both the left and the right. The
ate a joint rapid reaction force will mean tablished. It would be an inefficient or- Political Science of Lingnan University in left cannot tolerate the very idea of closer
a radical shift in the balance of power in ganisation, unlikely to be taken seriously Hong Kong,“Suc h a strategy would mean co-operation with the US. Those who want
Central Asia, and will inevitably urge all by other countries including the BRIC a rollback to the Cold War era where the India to be recognised as a real nuclear
the key actors in the region to revise their economies.” Jia Qingguo, Professor at the role of the USSR would be given to China. power believe that by signing a nuclear co-
strategic plans. School of International Studies of the Pe- China will not agree to this and Chinese operation agreement with the US, India
This only highlights the urgent need for leaders are unlikely to be cornered by an- voluntarily accepted the restrictions and
a discussion about Russia-NATO co-op- yone.” Jia Qingguo states that “This pro- irreparably damaged its security system,
eration prospects in Afghanistan. The key A radical shift in the balance posal is unviable and will have no support thereby losing ground to China. Karnad’s
SOURCE: WWW.WCIOM.RU
forces whose interests confl ict in Central
of power in Central Asia will
from the Washington policymakers unless position is better understood when seen
Asia are the USA, the EU (it can still be
inevitably urge all the key
something extraordinary happens.” from this perspective. The polling agency reported ices of employment agencies
regarded as a single actor despite its in-
actors in the region to revise
Yet India, China’s traditional rival for In the foreseeable future, China would that the most popular meth- more than once – 2 pc were
ternal discords) and three regional pow- domination in Asia, is uncertain about the steer a middle course in its regional secu- od for fi nding vacancies was currently registered with
ers: Russia, India and China. These coun- their strategic plans anti-China union possibility. On one hand, rity policy, “disguising its claws” and through friends and rela- employment services. Mean-
tries are operating in the region both di- P. R. Chari, Professor at the Institute of avoiding tensions that could be provoked tives, with 29 pc of respond- while, according to another
rectly and through the medium of bigger Peace and Confl ict Studies in Delhi, be- by too close a rapprochement with the US ents choosing this option. recent study that targeted a
organisations, like NATO (the USA and king University, agrees: “Most probably, lieves that “this proposal is neither viable or open recognition of its allies. Approaching employers di- narrower demographic – the
most of EU member states), the CSTO the US and its allies would stick to the al- nor appropriate". On the other hand, in as India is different. Its future strategic pol- rectly was the next most economically active popula-
(Russia) and the Shanghai Co-operation ready existing unions. China and Russia early as 1994, Bharat Karnad, a Research icy will hinge on which party wins the popular job-search strategy, tion with Internet access –
Organization (SCO), which includes Rus- might not like it, but they have already Professor in National Security Studies at parliamentary elections that will run with 17 pc, followed by using the most popular methods
sia and China as full members and India become accustomed to the situation and the Delhi Center for Policy Research, of- from late April to early May. Besides, this state employment services for finding work were spe-
as an observer. The BRIC group addition- will have to put up with it for the foresee- fered an Asian security architecture with policy might be largely affected - either (16 pc). cialised Internet sites and
ally unites Russia, India and China. able future.” India at the heart of it, Israel and Japan on directly or indirectly, via Afghanistan and Every 10th respondent used recommendations from
From this perspective, US-China rela- Non-Chinese writers defi ne China’s po- the fl anks and ASEAN, Vietnam, Taiwan Pakistan - by other important forces root- mass media sources to look friends and relatives.
tions are increasingly important. The US sition in even more concrete terms. Ac- and South Korea cementing it in China’s ed in the Central Asia region.
-
for work (11 pc), followed by The survey, conducted by the
policymakers offer polar opinions on cording to Dr Thomas S. Wilkins from the ‘‘soft underbelly”. Karnad believes such ar- the Internet (7 pc). Least fa- research centre of the Su-
their prospects: Zbigniew Brzezinski Centre for International Security Stud- chitecture would prevent outside powers First published in voured of all were staffing perJob.ru online portal,
proposes to set up a US-China union, a ies at the University of Sydney, “In the - and especially the US - from playing any Russky Journal agencies (3 pc) and employ- found that 73 pc considered
kind of “G2”, whereas John Mearsheimer current situation, China has little inter- important role in the Asia region. ment fairs (1 pc).VT sIOM re- the Internet’s database of
champions the necessity to form a region- est to become a global or even regional In fact, Indians themselves are divided Boris Volkhonsky is a political observer for ported that 42 pc of people vacancies “to be a huge vol-
al union including the US, Russia, India, leader. Beijing will continue to follow a over the unprecedented rapprochement Russky Journal . had no experience at all in ume of information all gath-
job hunting. ered in the one location in a
The majority of Russians (73 ‘convenient-to-search’ for-
pc) had never used employ- mat,” while searching for
AN ORDER OF
cially when India paid back all its debts in To increase bilateral trade to US$10bn ment services. Sixteen pc work in specialised print
Rupee-Rouble exchange rates, disapprov- and take it to $8bn by 2015, as Putin had used the services of em- media or using employment
ing suggestions of dishonouring the falter- hoped, is not a tall order even in the ployment agencies once. agencies was a “waste of
ing Rouble, inviting a huge loss but main- present recession, as trade has been low- Only 6 pc had used the serv- time”.
taining good relations which have proved key compared to others like the US and
MUTUAL TRUST
much dearer than the dollar regime. Noth- China. The only element needed is to in-
ing could shake the undiluted faith in Rus- crease the mutual interest between Indi-
sian friendship, the best of which we saw an and Russian corporate giants and start
during Indira Gandhi’s regime before Va- dealing with regions and states directly.
Questions? Opinions?
jpayee. While all of the friends of the So- Thus, Russian joint ventures should deal
viet Union have been ditched, it was India with Indian states and Indian industrial
TARUN VIJAY
as the chief guest on Republic Day, his alone that stood fi rmly with Russian col- leaders will be able to reach out to the 89 Please send your comments by property of Rossiyskaya
EXPERT emphasis on strengthening the strategic ours. Never had they discussed the cost. Russian regions. email (editor.india@rg.ru) or Gazeta, and it reserves the
partnership and practical help in times When India was left alone by the super- While India is fruitfully engaged in the fax (0870 928 9823), with right to reject, condense or
On the third table from my seat, then- of need, have had only one result - the peo- powers engaged in cold war, it was Russia democratic axis involving the US and your name, address and other edit for clarity, or when in-
Russian President Vladimir Putin, the ple of both countries trust each other in a standing like a rock and weathering West- Japan, and has fi nally found a place in contact details for verifi ca- formation cannot be sub-
power centre of a new world order that way incomparable to any other two coun- ern pressures to help India. It’s not just the the Shanghai Club, it would be worth- tion. If you do not wish your stantiated. We do not pub-
refused to accept a unipolar system, was tries on this planet. while to forge a strategic partnership in- name or email to be pub- lish anonymous letters, let-
passionately in discussion with Indian Trust is the word that suitably defi nes In- volving China as well as the Russians. An lished, please indicate so ters advocating extremism
ex-Prime Minister Vajpayee. I was the dia-Russian relations. The rest is simply We must increase mutual India-Russia-China axis will go a long clearly. or containing personal at-
13th editor of the newspaper where he embroidery.
interest between Indian and
way to help peace and tranquility in the Once published, letters and tacks, mass mailings or com-
began his public life; maybe that gave me From atomic energy co-operation to steel
the strength to breach protocol and head manufacturing and lending the timeliest
Russian corporate giants, and
region, especially in combating the men- guest columns become the mercial appeals.
over to Putin’s table to take his autograph helping hand during the critical Bangla-
start dealing with regions and
aces of terrorism and separatism. It will
also help douse the suspicions of Chinese
on the Kremlin banquet’s fabulously dec- desh war, Russians have always been on states directly establishment regarding growing Indo-
orated menu card. It was November 7, our side. The thunderous applause Putin Russian bilateral co-operation, which OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS PAGE’S ARTICLES AND LETTERS
2001. A surprised smile appeared on Pu- received at the Indian parliament when genuinely is not targeted against any na-
ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE EDITORS
tin’s face and his signature was in my he spoke on Kashmir, saying the elements meeting of strategic interests, it’s the cul- tion.
OF ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA
hands, as the magnifi cence of the Alex- creating problems in J&K were the very tural and civilisational warmth that keeps The best hope is that India continues to
AND RUSSIA INDIA REPORT
adria Hall, with its lustrous gold-plated same behind Chechnya’s troubles, bears the heat of cosiness intact, stretching far nurture continuity in its policy towards
walls, reverberated with to the sounds of testimony to the Indian mood towards beyond the formalities of Moscow and Russia. In the current external affairs
Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker and Swan Russian stances on our most important Delhi. Both are multi-ethnic and deeply minister, Pranab Mukarjee, we have a
Lake - and Raj Kapoor’s Mera Joota Hai issues. religious societies. A friend of mine recent- seasoned and mature statesman capable
This issue has been conceptualised by
Japani. You can quote a thousand pages of statis- ly married a Russian girl; the guests from of deftly steering the ship of bilateral re-
Putin had won the hearts of every Hin- tics to reinforce the solid foundation of bi- Moscow felt similarities in Hindu rituals lations.
-
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA MARKETING,
dustani. On that count, 2009 is no differ- lateral relations, or create spokes of statis- and the signifi cance of family ties, espe-
RESPONSE
ent from 2001. His speech to the joint ses- tical jugglery to prove how bad it had been, cially respect for elders and ceremonies in- Tarun Vijay is Director of the Dr Syama
adqueries@timesgroup.com
sion of the Indian parliament, his arrival as inspired analysts would often do - espe- volving age old customs. Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation
•

Feature Co-ordinator:
ADDITIONAL READING ON
NABI ABDULLAEV/ U.S. overestimating Russia's clout with Iran ALEXEI MOISEEV / Sergei Ignatyev: the cool hand that saved us
Mehernosh Gotla
(mehernosh.gotla@timesgroup.com)
WWW.RBTH.RU
ANNA ARUTUNYAN / Medvedev admits journalists need protection DMITRY BABICH/ No silver bullet for Afghanistan
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