Larisa Lehmer
CREEES Summer Travel/ Research GrantResearch Internship at the Institute for the Economy in Transition, Moscow, Russia
July 10 – Sept 15, 2008
“Summer 2008 in Moscow, Russia: Think-tanks, Dachas, and War”
I went to work in Moscow with the objective to
obtain a better understanding of the state of the
Russian economy— and although I may have returned
with more questions than answers on this topic, I
came back with a much richer experience than I could
have previously imagined possible in such a short time.
My research at the Institute for the Economy in Transition (IET) was conducted under the direction of Sergei Javoronkov of the department of “Political Economy and Regional Development.” More specifically, my work entailed comparing the effectiveness of “The Rule of Law” at protecting private property rights from State expropriations in China and Russia. At the start of my research, I had no previous experience in the field of political-economics, and so just arriving at an appropriate topic was a process that required a thorough review of both the Russian and English literature available on the topics of privatization, corruption, the legal system in Russia, and international (as well as national) rules on expropriation. Even though this process was long, looking back, I feel my goal to “jump-start” my Master’s this year (2008-9) in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES) was accomplished in that I became acquainted with a number of the problems facing the State and society in Russia today.
I found that China and Russia have a lot more in common than I previously thought possible. In order to build the stadiums and provide competition venues for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the Chinese government found it necessary to expropriate the property of a number of its citizens “in the interest of the State.” Expropriations are recognized as a “necessary evil” by the international community under certain guidelines including the provision of ‘sufficient notice,’ just compensation for property lost, and access to legal channels of contestation. A look at China’s Olympic experience reveals a number of violations of these provisions have left a number of people without homes. Current changes in the Russian Civil Code have made it easier to evict people by shortening the required notification period from one year to three months. When taken together with the institution of property-valuations by the same state-owned companies in charge of demolition and construction in Sochi, it becomes apparent that the residents of the Krasnodar Krai region may be in store many of the same injustices of the Chinese experience as the Russian government prepares for the 2014 Winter Olypmic Games.
Other areas expropriations are particularly frequent, and are becoming increasingly more so, are classified in Russian as “strategic sectors.” Recently, a number of high-profile cases have made the headlines with clashes between the Russian government and companies such as Mechel, BP, Norilsk Nickel, Yukos, and Royal-Dutch Shell. World-wide, energy security is a huge issue, but the arbitrary prosecution of tax-laws or outright harassment of top-level executives has driven foreign investment from Russia and consolidated wealth in the hands of those close to the Kremlin. In China, energy has necessitated the relocation of millions of people for the building of hydroelectric dams (such as Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze). The Chinese Communist Party’s brief experiment in private ownership of oil wells ended when the State seized the fields and production assets from individual investors in the northern province of Hubei. In many ways, the actions of the Chinese and Russian governments have become increasingly predatory through the implementation of self-serving vs. representative policies.
Aside from research, I was able to catch a glimpse of life in Moscow by my generous hostess, Katya. She not only included me in get-togethers with her friends in town, but took me out to her family’s dacha in Kremelskoe. There I was able to experience the “rustic” side of Russia where, while it is necessary to draw water from a local well, it is also possible to pick fresh produce right out of the summer-cabin’s own mini-orchard and garden. Through Katya, I was able to talk to a wide variety of Russians on a broad range of topics including Russian and American politics, the war in Georgia, and classic Russian films.
A notable development that occurred while I was in Moscow was the outbreak of the Russo-Georgian conflict in South Ossetia. One of the most interesting things for me about this conflict was the different portrayals of events in South Ossetia and Georgia by the Russian and American media outlets. American sources almost unanimously vilified Russia, and Russian sources placed the blame for the instigation of the fighting squarely on the Georgian’s shoulders. During this time period, my hostess happened to be in Tblisi, and while she could hear explosions the first night she was there, she did not feel she was in imminent danger as a Russian citizen. Her critique of the situation was that it was purely a political game whose only practical outcome would be to make travel more difficult between the two countries.
I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to live and work in Moscow. I not only gained a substantial amount of knowledge of the history and current path of the Russian political economy, but also came away with a close friendship and personal understanding of what makes life in Moscow different than any other place in the world.