Russia Taking Lessons from China 01/15/2010
Aleksandr Zhukov, a Russian deputy prime minister, praised the Chinese Communist Party at a meeting on the Sino-Russian border. Wang Jianwei/Xinhua
This has to be one of the biggest historical ironies of all time.
Somehow we missed this, but back in October, officials from Putin's United Russia Party met behind closed doors with senior officials from the Chinese Communist Party. The goal? To learn from China how to construct a one-party state that combines political control with strong economic growth.
Communist China transitioned fairly smoothly to a market economy, while Russia lost an entire decade to economic chaos. Since then, China has become the world's supplier of manufactured goods. Russia's economy looks third-worldish in comparison, mostly dependent on resources.
Russia turning to China for guidance also marks a change in the times. In the 1990s, Russia went to America for advice. But Russia's economic failure during that decade eroded faith in the American system, not to mention the current crisis. In 2010, Russia still doesn't have a plan to solve the country's many problems, only a personality. For a sustainable solution, Russia is now looking to China for inspiration.
Perhaps Russia is finally proving that Marx was correct. History repeats itself: the first time as a tragedy, and the second time as a farce.
Somehow we missed this, but back in October, officials from Putin's United Russia Party met behind closed doors with senior officials from the Chinese Communist Party. The goal? To learn from China how to construct a one-party state that combines political control with strong economic growth.
Communist China transitioned fairly smoothly to a market economy, while Russia lost an entire decade to economic chaos. Since then, China has become the world's supplier of manufactured goods. Russia's economy looks third-worldish in comparison, mostly dependent on resources.
Russia turning to China for guidance also marks a change in the times. In the 1990s, Russia went to America for advice. But Russia's economic failure during that decade eroded faith in the American system, not to mention the current crisis. In 2010, Russia still doesn't have a plan to solve the country's many problems, only a personality. For a sustainable solution, Russia is now looking to China for inspiration.
Perhaps Russia is finally proving that Marx was correct. History repeats itself: the first time as a tragedy, and the second time as a farce.
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