Vladislav Inozemtsev – a member of the Presidium of the Russian Council on Foreign Affairs, the Director of the Center for Post-Industrial Studies, and editor-in-chief of the journal Svobodnaya Mysl (“Free Thought”) – visited the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University on May 21, 2012.
Vladislav Inozemtsev – a member of the Presidium of the Russian Council on Foreign Affairs, the Director of the Center for Post-Industrial Studies, and editor-in-chief of the journal Svobodnaya Mysl (“Free Thought”) – visited the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University on May 21, 2012. During the visit, V. Inozemtsev delivered two lectures on the global role of the region and Russia as a whole, titled “Kaliningrad: a Bridge to Europe or a Place of Arms for a Non-existent Army?” and “Economic and Geopolitical Positioning of Russia in the Modern World”.
Vladislav Inozemtsev called for the use of Kaliningrad’s geographical advantages in the form of intense economic integration with the other European economies. “Kaliningrad is a kind of Hong Kong on the Baltic Sea,” he said. Consequently, several measures aimed at ensuring the flow of migrant workers, improving the competitiveness of manufactured goods, tax cuts, and abolition of visas should be taken for the successful development of the region. The features of the economic zone of Kaliningrad should consist of not artificial establishment of internal economic relations, but a full re-orientation of the Kaliningrad economy with the Western market.
In order to increase the tourist attractiveness of the region, the conditions and infrastructure for business travel should be actively developed. Increasing the popularity of the region among Russian tourists can be achieved by creating a gaming area there. In addition, abolition of import duties and opening of major western commercial centers and networks would turn Kaliningrad into a Russian capital of shopping for buyers of luxury goods. Development of classical tourism in the region is hardly possible.
Speaking about Russia’s economic problems in general, V. Inozemtsev rated the current state of the Russian economy very high, but noted that the increase in protest activities may adversely affect the flow of investment.
