<tit>STEVE FORBES: RUSSIA HAS LOST TEN YEARS FOLLOWING IMF ADVICE
According to Steve Forbes, now Russia has to come out of the investment and information shadow. Actually returning to the path it has lost almost a century ago. Russian statehood once again acquires functions of the largest and most influential political and economic intermediary in Eurasia. These key issues were discussed at the meeting of Forbes with the President of Russia on June 13 in St. Petersburg, where it was also decided to organize Forbes’ Forum-2007 in Russia. "Russians have been persuaded that their country has no future so long that they have nearly started believing this. Now this is done with." An exclusive interview to Rossiiskie Vesti of the head of Forbes corporation, publisher of the worldwide known Forbes magazine and actually the most influential consultant of the world for business development issues, began from this statement very unusual for an American.
Titkov: Were your plans corrected after the meeting with President Putin?
Forbes: The meeting confirmed that we chose the correct strategy in Russia. We hope to hold a Forbes CEO Forum in St. Petersburg in June of 2007. Of course, we will keep publishing Forbes Russia magazine with increase of its circulation and broadening of the distributing chain. We will also consider launching a Russian-language version of Forbes.com website.
Question: What will be the agenda of Forbes Forum Russia-2007?
Answer: There are several key points. Discussion of opportunities and prospects for running business in Russia will be in first place. Possibilities of activation of commercial contacts both with private companies and with governmental agencies are the most interesting for foreign investors. Naturally, we will discuss such topics as taxes and business laws. Another important task directly connected with economic growth (no matter in Russia or somewhere else) is represented by ownership rights. There will be discussions dedicated to such global problems as energy, trade and inflation too. The fact of organization of this conference implies recognition that modernization mechanisms are working in Russia, that the country and its economy are getting transformed and that the middle class is growing.
Question: You had a long conversation with the President of Russia. Like President George Bush, you had a chance to look into his soul. What did you see there?
Answer: I saw a very purposeful person sure of himself, sincerely convinced that he was creating the medium in which Russia could achieve really impressive economic growth. This person combines the Westernizing trends of Peter the Great and reformist potential of Stolypin. It seems that he wants to fulfill a double task: to modernize Russia and to simultaneously prevent a threat of disorder and chaos in the country. He also wants to create such conditions in which Russians will be able to feel growth in the feeling of pride for their country again. In our hi-tech age Russia really can become a global leader in the sector of hi-tech and biotechnologies.
Question: Now Russia enters international economic markets. What do you think about prospects of this process?
Answer: It is obvious that Russia is the world’s largest player in production and export of oil, natural gas, copper and aluminum. Russia also needs to use its potential in such fields as software development. For achievement of maximum growth, Russia should keep moving along the path of increase of transparency and development of the judicial system with assistance of which it is possible to resolve disputes efficiently and honestly both between private and commercial enterprises and between them and the state.
Question: According to the latest reports, Russia remains on the list of highly profitable but risky markets. When and how can this situation be changed?
Answer: The key for reduction of risks in Russia is development of the judicial system and more transparency.
Question: What can you say about the Russian-American relations and influence of the Administration of George Bush on them.
Answer: Despite the fluctuations, the American-Russian relations are quite healthy. Moreover, they are developing. For example, this is confirmed by the fact that an agreement on the WTO will be achieved soon.
Question: During Clinton’s time journalists started saying that the United States "lost" Russia. Is this true? Overall, how can one great power loose another?
Answer: In the 1990s, Russia was "wallowing" as if in a swamp and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was one of the main culprits for problems of the country. Directives of the IMF (high taxes and weak national currency) are a formula of catastrophe. Russia has a future as long as it avoids contacts with the IMF. Another source of problems of Russia in the 1990s was represented by vicious politicized recommendations of such consultants as Jeffrey Sachs who taught in Harvard then. Their recipes of "shock therapy" resulted in headlong privatization and total looting of economic wealth of the country by a handful of greedy people. Along with this, nothing or practically nothing was done to simplify and improve the terrible tax laws of that time, to introduce concepts of commercial right and transparency and to deepen the concept of ownership rights. As a result of these mistakes Russia lost an entire decade. People were not paid money and they saw how their living standards were collapsing. Thus, the strongest damage was done to ideas of democratic capitalism and democracy as such. These notions were strongly associated with the activity that in reality was anti-capitalist and antidemocratic.
Question: Probably Russia and the US need to revise the scheme of bilateral relations now staking on economic issues?
Answer: Yes, we really need to work on improvement of economic relations. Russia’s entrance into the WTO will help this enormously. The reason is that foreign investors are still afraid about safety of their rights for intellectual property. They also fear that the achieved agreements will not be observed stringently. Success of negotiations on entrance into the WTO will reduce these apprehensions significantly.
<ref>Rossiyskie Vesti, June 22, 20/06
RVR
