Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok Consolidates Russia’s Shift Away from Europe

The ninth annual Eastern Economic Forum, held over Sept. 3-6 in Vladivostok, Russia, welcomed over 7,000 guests from 75 countries, primarily high-level officials and business people. A total of 258 agreements were signed, amounting to 5.4 trillion rubles ($59.7 billion), with a special emphasis given to building a large new chemical complex in Komi Republic and a new timber processing complex in Sakhalin.

The Komi Republic is actually located in the far northeastern portion of European Russia, near the Arctic Route connecting to the Pacific. It is rich in mineral resources, oil, natural gas, bauxite, gold and diamonds, and its main industry is wood and wood products. Sakhalin Island is off the Pacific coast of Russia, and is also rich in oil and gas reserves, coal, timber, gold and ferrous metals.

In addressing the Forum on Sept. 5, Russian President Putin indicated how the development of Russia’s Far East, situated on the Pacific Rim, opens a new realm for the country’s economic development, as it promotes trade and exchanges extending to the Asia-Pacific, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean, facilitated by the development of trade and investments with China.

The dream of Sergei Witte (1849-1915), who initiated the Siberian development program through the creation of the Trans-Siberian Railroad at the beginning of the 20th century, will now come to fruition, in a world that the great Russian statesman and nation-builder could only imagine at that time. In fact, Witte’s vision has now become a matter of necessity, under the ruthless attempt by NATO and the West to reduce Russia to a minor power, if not to eradicate it completely.

President Putin made quite clear that such a development program is at the top of the economic and political agenda of the nation, noting “the objective trends that are gaining momentum in the global economy, when the main business ties, trade routes and the overall development are increasingly shifting towards the East and the Global South”.

The Trans-Siberian Railway and the Soviet-era addition to the Trans-Siberian line, the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM), will be improved, with double-tracking and electrification of the entire line. Roads and highways connecting the region to European Russia, and providing communications within the region, are also on the drawing board. In addition to a new deep water port, new port cities are being built up on the Northern Sea Route, through the Arctic. Providing energy for this process, and for fueling the new industries that will be arising in the course of this development will require additional sources of energy. Hydroelectric dams will be built and nuclear plants will appear in the Far East as well.

While considerable efforts will be made to expand the industries of the future in the region, including nuclear science, space, AI, and biotechnology, renewed attention will also be given to studying the geology of this immensely rich region, which can provide most of the elements of Mendeleev’s Periodic Table, a source of value of the region for Russia and for the world.