“Kremlin” is held in Vladivostok, another useless economic forum. The media enthusiastically reported on many of the signed agreements, Putin suggested that Russia, it appears, successfully overcome the crisis, and the far East and is a thriving and evolving. While officials of all kinds and grades told stories about plans and projects for the future, about the promises of trillions of dollars in investment and new energy superproject. In General, there was roughly the same as what happens at such events annually, already 16 years in a row. That’s just investment in the far East and don’t go – the area is impoverished, and the people rapidly leaving.
Russia is the only country in Asia which is experiencing long-term and significant economic decline. The depth of the economic decline over the past two years Putin’s “energy superpower” almost no rivals, neither in Asia nor in the “big twenty”, with the exception that the Latin American Brazil, which just held presidential impeachment.
Even while the Ministers and optimists are now forced to admit the acceleration of the decline in GDP. The Ministry of economic development in the updated forecast lowered its figure for GDP growth in 2016 – 0.2% to – 0,6%. But in the speeches of Putin in Vladivostok sounds “our economy has stabilized, we still have reserves, we have significantly reduced the outflow of capital,” publicly lied to the President, the security officer. Meanwhile, in the latest report of Rosstat lists and other indicators. The decline in retail sales in seven months – a 5.6% decline in the market of services – 0,8% decline of exports – almost 30%, reduction of import was 10%. The decline is 4.3% drop in real income – was 5.3%. Fails the “Kremlin” to restrain and the budget deficit, which is clearly outside the red line of 3% of GDP. In General, Putin’s ostentatious optimism against the background of the real numbers and problems looked at least ridiculous.
Single story – signed at the forum agreements and contracts. The desire of Russian authorities to involve to the far East foreigners, of course, interested in Chinese. Experts from the USA have reported that the millions of inhabitants of neighbouring provinces in China will surely use policy of openness and the free visa-free zones of the Russian Federation. Bloomberg publishes a demographic map of the Russian ones and the Chinese provinces adjacent to the Russian far East. If in the border regions of the Russian Federation lives a total of about 5 million people, neighboring China in the three border provinces – about 100 million.
The far East is really the most deserted region: 1991 to 2010, when I conducted the last census, the population there decreased by 22%, or nearly 2 million people. Now in the territory of more than 6 million sq km, which is 36% of the area of the Russian Federation, population of just 6.3 million people, that is, for every local inhabitant one square kilometer. For comparison, the average in Russia on one square kilometer there are 8.5 people. This situation is the result of Putin and his entourage. It is the policy of the “Kremlin” over the last 20 years made from the Far East deserted area with poor infrastructure and no development prospects.
In fact, while all attempts of the authorities to improve the situation in the far East for many years are reduced to forums, creation of new departments and ministries, and writing new laws. But neither the Torah nor the results of the far Eastern hectares, or free ports – none of these are effective only innovation makes the region economically attractive. Electricity rates, utility bills and fuel prices, and in General all goods in the far East are to live in this region is simply not profitable. Accordingly, the forum in Vladivostok best is that while bureaucrats, the Chinese are pursuing their own very specific interests that have nothing to do with the interests of Russia and Russian.
