Reforms for modernization

The topic of the conference was up to date, because only a few days before, the new Russian president Dmitrij Medvedev was inaugurated. Analyzing the reform policy in Germany and Russia should give impulses for the challenges of Medvedev and the new government under Putin. In three thematic blocs the participants discussed Russian reform policy between the Asian and European challenge, reform experiences in both countries and different aspects of migration and integration in Russia and Germany. In his presentation Alexander Rahr pointed out, that in both countries reforms in the framework of global changing processes are necessary, but by the population “reform shocks” are not welcome. Because of similar challenges like the demographic and ecological crises or terroristic threats, both countries can help each other to resolve internal and external problems with concrete cooperation. The chief editor of the magazine “Smysl”, Maxim Schewtchenko, refer in his speech to the point, that reforms are for people and the feedback between reformers and the effect of reforms is necessary.

Dr. Christoph Schwegman from the German Ministry of Defense challenged Russia’s search for a concept between Asia and Europe by characterizing Russia as an European as well as an Asian country. For the Russian government not the geopolitical position should be most important but how modernization can be successful. Central for the success in the security-political challenges of the 21 century is that Russia and the West understand each other as partners.

For Dr. Timofeeva from the Russian Academy for civil service of the Russian president in the last 20 years there were three different concepts of reforms in Russia: While Gorbachev wants to change the system from inside, Jelzin followed the goal to replace the old system by democracy and market economy. As a conservative reformer Putin tried to learn from these experiences and wanted to achieve reforms by stronger control, connected with the concentration of resources and administration by the president. Timofeeva pointed out that the central deficit of Putin’s reform policy was the lack of communication.

As important reform projects in the last 15 years the German side presented the Agenda 2010 of the former chancellor Gerhard Schröder and the rebuild of Eastern Germany after 1990. Especially the German experiences with the reform process in Eastern Germany were of high interest on the Russian side. Other topics of the conference have been demography and migration, the role of education as a factor for integration and modernization as well as the change of social structures like the family in the context of the demographic change.

This “Laboratory of future” contributed to an intensive dialog between Germany and Russia in key question of the current reform policy and provides for the participants insights into the development in Siberian Russia.