The Russia Conference 2016: Russia's Turn to the East - Promises and pitfalls

In the wake of the Ukraine conflict, the eastern vector in Russian politics is becoming more and more significant. What consequences will this have for Russian domestic development and international relations? We invite you to a conference with discussions about the outlooks for Russias turn to the East. This year's event is a capstone conference for the TIGER project («Trade Integration, Geopolitics and the Economy of Russia»), funded by NORRUSS programme of the Research Council f Norway, and for the project «Developments in the Russian Far East», funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The 2016 conference is also supported by the Korea Foundation through the project «Gateway or Garrisson? The Russian Far East and East Asian regional cooperation in changing geopolitical times». Programme 09 - 15: 09:00 Welcome address – Ulf Sverdrup, director of NUPI 09:10 Panel 1 The Russian perspective on the Far East and East Asia Chair: Elana Wilson Rowe Timofey Bordachev | Higher School of Economics, Russia Anchoring Far East and Siberia to Global Economy: investment, transportation and cooperation Natasha Kuhrt | King's College, UK Russia's East Asia policy: rebalancing away from or towards China? Pavel Baev | PRIO, Norway Russia and the stepping up of military posturing in East Asia Tamara Troyakova | Far Eastern University, Russia The Russian Far East cooperation with China, Republic of Korea, and Japan: opportunities and challenges Indra Øverland | NUPI, Norway East-West index: assessing Russia's eastern pivot Q&A 10:50 Coffee/tea 11:05 Panel 2 The international and regional politics of Russia’s turn to the East Chair: Tom Røseth Yang Cheng | East China Normal University, China Russia's Eastward Pivot and Prospects for Sino-Russian Relations: The Chinese View Kim Seok Hwan | Korea Institute of Eurasian Studies and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Korea Korea's Russian policy and Russia's Pivot to Asia Sharyl Cross | St. Edwards University and Wilson Center, USA China, Russia, and twenty first century global geopolitics Marcin Kaczmarski | Institute of International Relations, University of Warsaw, Poland The failed act of balancing: the implications of Russia's growing Sinocentrism for East Asian political order Q&A 12:30 Lunch 13:00 Panel 3 Trade integration, geopolitics and the economy of Russia TBC Chair: Laura Solanko David Tarr | Consultant and former lead economist of the World Bank, US The Eurasian Economic Union: Can it succeed where its predecessor failed? Arne Melchior | NUPI, Norway Trade integration and the economic geography of Russia Natalia Volchkova | CEFIR, Russia Capital Structure and Exporting: Evidence from Import Tariff Changes Roman Vakulchuk | NUPI, Norway Import Substitution, Barriers to Trade and Path-Dependence in Russian Far East Fishing Industry Q&A End: 14:50