2 November 2018

Professor Evstafiev: Russia not ready to turn East


Turning in the Eastern direction did not work out as Russia was absolutely not ready for it, according to Dmitry Evstafiev, professor of the Faculty of Communications, Media and Design at the Higher School of Economics. 

“Many experts are saying that turning East did not work out or not as expected or not in the right direction. I think it is true. Russia can’t bite more than it could chew both in terms of economic development and in terms of redirecting its logistics towards the East,” Dmitry Evstafiev commented. 

He added that Russia was completely unprepared for changing the direction. 

“We had to face such world economy giants as China, Japan and ASEAN. We have no chances against them,” the expert noted. 

Evstafiev stressed that before turning East, Russia should have developed major system-wide projects that could be in demand. 


“I think we should follow the course of least resistance and in a different direction. We should focus on cooperation with Azerbaijan, Iran and other countries of the Persian Gulf, an area of long-term instability. Our security services will always be in demand, especially if we develop large-scale economic projects. And Russia has a lot to offer them.”

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