Stanislav Ivanov: "The Caucasus can feed itself, it only needs proper conditions"

Senior Researcher of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Ph.D. in history and Ph.D. in economics Stanislav Ivanov, told VK about Syria, Turkey, the Kurds and the North Caucasus. Today we publish the first part of the interview concerning the problems of the North Caucasus region.

- Vyacheslav Mikhailovich, how do you assess the situation in the North Caucasus in light of the upcoming elections of heads of the republics?

- I specialize in international affairs, but in terms of the forces of international terrorism and the impact of the first and second Chechen wars, I continue to pay attention to this region. In addition, it turned out that in Syria there are people recruited from the North Caucasus. The North Caucasus continues to be one of the regions that affect both the domestic and foreign policy of the Russian Federation, and even a key area of a solution to the ethnic question. If we are able to carry out a pilot project of making the North Caucasus a prosperous region, other regions - the Kaliningrad region and the Far East – following this example, will be able to turn from backward subsidized regions with the problems of inter-ethnic nature or inter-religious character into thriving ones. However, all will be the opposite if we cannot solve the problem of the North Caucasus.

Khloponin called for mass migration of the labor force, employment in other regions. But we cannot mechanically move people - we need to create social programs, to build mosques, to create conditions for them to live with the local population in peace and harmony. Kadyrov knows this, and Moscow knows this. Unfortunately, in practice, the capabilities are missing, or not enough attention is paid. Obviously, not all officials understand and take into account ethnic and religious differences.

- Under what conditions could the North Caucasus become a prosperous region?

- It is necessary to create conditions for the development of regional, local production, infrastructure, enabling these republics themselves to fill the budget, to build roads, bridges, schools and hospitals. To do this, at this stage we may decrease and reallocate taxes. Maybe part of the local business elites (if they invested like "Anzhi" in foreign players or in Moscow markets, European production, and the money goes out of the region) will find interest in creating local industry there. Creating favorable conditions is not that difficult. We have the experience overseas and our own experience. It may be a zone of free trade.

The role of government is not to inject billions there that dissolve and are stolen. The role of government is to create an environment in which people can earn and distribute the money.

One of the main problems is the problem of corruption. I know Ramadan Abdullatipov quite well – he worked in the Federation Council, was ambassador to Tajikistan. He is an honest, decent man. There should be plenty such people in leadership positions. Ramzan Kadyrov also does a lot. They need to be supported, but support is not mechanically allocating huge billions in subsidies but the creation of favorable conditions.

Unfortunately, the "vertical of power" in the Russian Federation is built in such a way that, concerning all cash flows, even the local oil industry, the local capitalists, entrepreneurs pay taxes in other areas - in Moscow, St. Petersburg. This is not just a problem of the North Caucasus. Similarly, the Far East, Urengoj, Tyumen, Kaliningrad pay in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

By the way, Iraqi Kurdistan could serve as a model for the North Caucasus. As a subject of the federation, it gets 17% of its revenue from oil, which the whole country produces, and in proportion to the population they are given money for development of the regions. Why doesn’t Russia take its revenues and do the same? We have not just oil, we have gas, nickel, aluminium, a lot of things, natural resources. We can calculate the population in the North Caucasus republics and give the money to development.

- Are there other sources of development of the North Caucasus?

- The second source is local projects. We should support them, release them for a while and create a free trade zone. After all, we are next to the Caspian Sea and Iran. It is necessary to allow them to trade with Iran. Iran, too, is in a locked position in relation to international unilateral sanctions. Iran would love to develop trade with Dagestan and Chechnya. We should create an enabling environment, free from customs duties, and reduce the tax bar. There are also Azerbaijan and Armenia.

And there are our other regions. In regional development we have all the same thing; I think the main thing is legislation. The second one is the executive power, reducing the level of corruption. And it is necessary to study the international experience. Something should be taken from Iraqi Kurdistan, something from Europe, because there is integration, the same with Liechtenstein or Monaco - they do not even have a problem. What is it - not having enough money to build a school? Not long ago a woman called from Stavropol Territory, from a village, and addressed to President. She had no running water. And the president called the governor and informed him. It's a cartoon for the economy. It can be imagined: some woman from a farm addresses Obama and says she does not have running water. Why? The village budget, the budget of the district, the city's budget, the budget of the republic must be filled. And the revenue side and expenditure must conform to avoid the issue of contacting the center and to do this the expense of insurance funds.

Right now in the Amur region there is a tragedy, there are such natural disasters in the North Caucasus. We need to develop an insurance system. People have suffered – we should not close this hole with handouts. There are insurance systems. The whole world lives in such a way. You just have to take the international experience and to take our experience of unsubsidized regions. The Federation is powerful due to the members of the Federation. If the members of the Federation are stable, developed and safe – the Federation will flourish. And we believe that the regions are separate, Moscow is separate, St.-Petersburg is also separate, and the result is that neither the Ministry of Regional Development nor any other federal agency can solve the problem.

With all due respect to Khloponin, the experience of "Norilsk Nickel" is one thing, and another is a complex republic. Even for Abdullatipov, an intelligent man, it is very difficult to remove an entire bureaucracy from one place. The economic and political leverages are clear.

- And how to push them in relation to the North Caucasus?

- It is necessary to turn the criminal situation into a civilized one, so that every citizen of a remote village knows where he lives, that he is protected, that the local official will not steal, that he will have gas, water and basic amenities.

The North Caucasus could become a pilot project or a solution to the regional problems of the Russian Federation and an engine for the whole country or, on the contrary, in case of failure, may encourage other regions to some sort of isolation, as now people have to go to work in other regions. This is not normal. There's plenty of territory, a rather favorable climate. We have water, fish stocks, we have oil resources and resorts. But, unfortunately, this is used on a small scale, and many resources have remained untapped. So I support giving autonomy to regions so that they are self-reliant.

As for the slogan "Stop feeding the Caucasus!” I would put it differently: "The Caucasus can feed itself, it just needs proper conditions." That would be right. The parasitical model of the legacy of the Soviet Union inhibits the development of these republics. But we need to look forward as a democratic, modern state, an innovative, advanced one, using the achievements of the most modern technologies. We need to create universities, a research base. Why do guys from the North Caucasus come to study in Rostov, Novocherkassk, Krasnodar, Moscow, Saint-Petersburg? We have to create an educational basis so that there are enough schools.

And the other side of the coin: in an era of scientific and technological revolution so many children are educated, but they have nowhere to run. Everything has to happen in parallel - both legislation and education, and job creation for young people so that they know that they are guaranteed to get a job in their field.

If this is not done, you’ll get an "Arab Spring." One of the reasons for the "Arab Spring" is that young people received a higher education in the West but, having returned, could not find a job. We also have a lot of people who graduate from school and college and cannot find a job. When they are in Moscow, they are told: “You are strangers here”. But they are citizens of the Russian Federation. The only thing is that they do not have registration. However, registration is very easy to buy from our officials. And it turns out that Moscow is full, on the one hand, of visitors from other countries, on the other hand, of our Russians who cannot realize themselves, but here it is not so easy, here there is hostile environment and language and religion. So there are problems in Moscow, St. Petersburg, across Russia. And they must be addressed. If we solve them, it will be easier here.