Russia's Turn to the East: Domestic Policymaking and Regional Cooperation (Global Reordering)

This book is open access under a CC BY license. This book explores if and how Russian policies towards the Far East region of the country - and East Asia more broadly - have changed since the onset of the Ukraine crisis and Russia's annexation of Crimea. Following the 2014 annexation and the subsequent enactment of a sanctions regime against the country, the Kremlin has emphasized the eastern vector in its external relations. But to what extent has Russia's 'pivot to the East' intensified or changed in nature - domestically and internationally - since the onset of the current crisis in relations with the West? Rather than taking the declared 'pivot' as a fact and exploring the consequences of it, the contributors to this volume explore whether a pivot has indeed happened or if what we see today is the continuation of longer-duration trends, concerns and ambitions. Helge Blakkisrud is Head of the Research Group on Russia, Eurasia and the Arctic at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), Norway. His research interests include Russian regional politics, centre-region relations and federalism, as well as nation-building, nationalism and national identity in Russia and Eurasia. His most recent books are The Governors' Last Stand: Federal Bargaining in Russia's Transition to Appointed Regional Heads, 2005-2009 (2015) and The New Russian Nationalism: Imperialism, Ethnicity and Authoritarianism, 2000-2015 (co-edited with Pål Kolstø, 2016). Elana Wilson Rowe is Head of the Research Group on Emerging Powers and International Development at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), Norway; and Adjunct Professor at Nord University, Norway. Her present research interests include Russian foreign policy, particularly in the areas of energy and climate change, and Arctic politics. She is the author of Russian Climate Politics (2013), editor of Russia and the North (2009) and co-editor of The Multilateral Dimension in Russian Foreign Policy (with Stina Torjesen, 2009) and Russia's Encounter with Globalization (with Julie Wilhelmsen, 2011).-- Provided by publisher Preface 6 Contents 8 List of Contributors 10 List of Figures 12 List of Tables 13 Chapter 1: Gateway or Garrison? Border Regions in Times of Geopolitical Crisis 14 References 21 Chapter 2: An Asian Pivot Starts at Home: The Russian Far East in Russian Regional Policy 23 Backdrop: Post-1991 Management of Centre–Region Relations 25 The Russian Far East 26 The Ministry for the Development of the Far East 28 Portfolio 29 Plans and Implementation 31 Institutional Environment 32 Intra-Ministerial Competition and Rivalries 33 Oversight Versus Overlap: The Role of the Presidential Plenipotentiary 34 Bureaucratization and Duplication 34 The Regional Executive 35 Ministry for the Development of the Far East: Successes and Pitfalls 36 References 39 Chapter 3: Primorskii Krai and Russia’s ‘Turn to the East’: A Regional View 43 Budgetary, Administrative, Legislative and Policy Changes 44 Economic Development Zones in Primorskii Krai 47 Advanced Special Economic Zones 49 Free Port of Vladivostok 50 Far Eastern Hectare 52 Developing Infrastructure 53 Primorye’s Regional Economic Diplomacy 55 Concluding Remarks 56 References 58 Chapter 4: Promoting New Growth: ‘Advanced Special Economic Zones’ in the Russian Far East 62 Major Socioeconomic Challenges in the Russian Far East 63 Russia’s New Development Strategy for the Far East 70 ASEZs: An Investment Platform to Cultivate Export-Oriented Industry 71 Content and Characteristics 73 Initial Results 75 Evaluation of Policy Implementation and Prospects for Development 77 References 81 Chapter 5: The Russian Far East and Russian Security Policy in the Asia-Pacific Region 86 Historical Backdrop to Russia’s Security Policy in the Asia-Pacific 87 Russian Security Policy in the Asia-Pacific Region: 2012–14 88 Strategic Partnership with China 90 The Russo-Chinese Border as a Source of Insecurity 91 Deployment of Armed Forces in the Russian Far East 92 Bilateral Relations with Japan 92 US-led Alliances in Northeast Asia 93 Russia’s Approach to Multilateralism 94 The 2014 Crisis with the West and Russia’s Northeast Asian Security Policy 95 Conclusions 98 References 100 Chapter 6: Did China Bankroll Russia’s Annexation of Crimea? The Role of Sino-Russian Energy Relations 106 Sanctions Against Russia 109 China’s Stance on the Sanctions 110 Patterns of Economic Interaction Between China and Russia 110 Sino-Russian Energy Projects 113 Transneft: ESPO Pipeline 113 Gazprom: Power of Siberia 115 Novatek: Yamal LNG 117 Rosneft: Vankor 118 Summing Up the Four Projects 119 The Long-Term Perspective 120 Conclusions 122 References 124 Chapter 7: Russia, China and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Diverging Security Interests and the ‘Crimea Effect’ 130 A Troubled Pivot: Russia’s Turn to East Asia Under Putin 131 The Shanghai Cooperation Organization: An Overview 133 Sino-Russian Relations and the Evolution of the SCO 136 Security Debates Within the SCO 138 Georgia and Ukraine: The Cracks Get Wider? 140 Conclusions: Same Bed, Different Dreams? 143 References 144 Chapter 8: Russia’s New Asian Tilt: How Much Does Economy Matter? 150 Context Does Matter 152 Attempts to Improve Business Climate in the Far East: New Efforts, Old Story? 154 Trade: Who Is at the Helm? 157 FDI in the Russian Far East 159 Concluding Discussion: The Swan, the Pike and the Crawfish 162 References 164 Chapter 9: Afterword: 6400 Kilometres Away—But Not a Policy World Apart 169 Pivoting, Turning or Leaning? A Growing Suite of Measures and Institutions 170 Turning as Turning Away? Europe or Asia in a Post-­Crimea Period 172 Index 175 This book is open access under a CC BY license. This book explores if and how Russian policies towards the Far East region of the country - and East Asia more broadly - have changed since the onset of the Ukraine crisis and Russia's annexation of Crimea. Following the 2014 annexation and the subsequent enactment of a sanctions regime against the country, the Kremlin has emphasized the eastern vector in its external relations. But to what extent has Russia's 'pivot to the East' intensified or changed in nature - domestically and internationally - since the onset of the current crisis in relations with the West? Rather than taking the declared 'pivot' as a fact and exploring the consequences of it, the contributors to this volume explore whether a pivot has indeed happened or if what we see today is the continuation of longer-duration trends, concerns and ambitions. Helge Blakkisrud is Head of the Research Group on Russia, Eurasia and the Arctic at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), Norway. His research interests include Russian regional politics, centre-region relations and federalism, as well as nation-building, nationalism and national identity in Russia and Eurasia. His most recent books are The Governors' Last Stand: Federal Bargaining in Russia's Transition to Appointed Regional Heads, 2005-2009 (2015) and The New Russian Nationalism: Imperialism, Ethnicity and Authoritarianism, 2000-2015 (co-edited with Pål Kolstø, 2016). Elana Wilson Rowe is Head of the Research Group on Emerging Powers and International Development at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), Norway; and Adjunct Professor at Nord University, Norway. Her present research interests include Russian foreign policy, particularly in the areas of energy and climate change, and Arctic politics. She is the author of Russian Climate Politics (2013), editor of Russia and the North (2009) and co-editor of The Multilateral Dimension in Russian Foreign Policy (with Stina Torjesen, 2009) and Russia's Encounter with Globalization (with Julie Wilhelmsen, 2011).-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Gateway or Garrison? Border Regions in Times of Geopolitical Crisis (Helge Blakkisrud, Elana Wilson Rowe)....Pages 1-9 An Asian Pivot Starts at Home: The Russian Far East in Russian Regional Policy (Helge Blakkisrud)....Pages 11-30 Primorskii Krai and Russia’s ‘Turn to the East’: A Regional View (Tamara Troyakova)....Pages 31-49 Promoting New Growth: ‘Advanced Special Economic Zones’ in the Russian Far East (Jiyoung Min, Boogyun Kang)....Pages 51-74 The Russian Far East and Russian Security Policy in the Asia-Pacific Region (Malin Østevik, Natasha Kuhrt)....Pages 75-94 Did China Bankroll Russia’s Annexation of Crimea? The Role of Sino-Russian Energy Relations (Indra Overland, Gulaikhan Kubayeva)....Pages 95-118 Russia, China and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Diverging Security Interests and the ‘Crimea Effect’ (Marc Lanteigne)....Pages 119-138 Russia’s New Asian Tilt: How Much Does Economy Matter? (Roman Vakulchuk)....Pages 139-157 Afterword: 6400 Kilometres Away—But Not a Policy World Apart (Elana Wilson Rowe, Helge Blakkisrud)....Pages 159-164 Back Matter ....Pages 165-167 This open access book presents the roles and mechanisms of signal transduction triggered by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) stimulation in neuroprotection against toxic effects of risk factors of neurodegenerative diseases. Accumulating evidence suggests that nAChRs in the CNS play important roles not only in excitatory neurotransmission but also in neuronal survival and related functions. Neuroprotection mediated by nAChRs in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease is the major topic of this book. In response to rapidly evolving areas in clinical and laboratory neuropharmacology and neurochemistry, this volume provides in-depth coverage of neuroprotection in basic research and future developments in the clinical application of effective neuroprotective strategies in neurodegenerative diseases. This work appeals to both basic and clinical researchers in several fields, such as neuroscience, neurology, and pharmacology. This book is published with open access under a CC BY 4.0 license This title explores if and how Russian policies towards the Far East region of the country - and East Asia more broadly - have changed since the onset of the Ukraine crisis and Russia's annexation of Crimea. Following the 2014 annexation and the subsequent enactment of a sanctions regime against the country, the Kremlin has emphasized the eastern vector in its external relations. But to what extent has Russia's 'pivot to the East' intensified or changed in nature - domestically and internationally - since the onset of the current crisis in relations with the West? Rather than taking the declared 'pivot' as a fact and exploring the consequences of it, the contributors to this volume explore whether a pivot has indeed happened or if what we see today is the continuation of longer-duration trends, concerns and ambitions Development studies; Russia; Far East; International affairs; Energy; Shanghai cooperation organization; Economic development; Security policy; Multilateral organizations; Diplomacy; Regionalism; Russian–European relations; Russia’s “pivot to the East”; Annexation of Crimea; Regional politics; Eurasia; Ukraine; Sanctions regime; Foreign policy