Baltic Rim Economies 1/2020

Published on the 28th of February 2020

Trade relations between Finland and South Korea: Room for new innovations and cooperation

“South Korea is considered to be a miracle on the Han River – a nation with economic development curve so steep it is nearly impossible to match with any other country in the world. Today, South Korea is a buzzing nation of over 50 million people and the world’s 11th biggest economy. What does Finland have to offer the homeland of high-tech giants such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai?”

Eero Suominen,
Ambassador of Finland to the Republic of Korea

Russia, NATO and European security

“The end of the Cold War opened a possibility to build a system of genuine security in Europe. But the chance was missed. Why?

Let’s take 1990 as the starting point. Leading powers were discussing crucial matters concerning the future of Europe, with a united Germany as a core issue. The essence of the American and other Western partners’ approach could be illustrated by what Moscow heard from Washington: if Americans maintain presence in Germany that is a part of NATO, the Alliance’s forces would not be moved one inch to the east.”

Alexander Gremitskikh,
Consul General of Russia in Turku,
Finland

EU Interreg funding for smart ideas in blue growth

“Mussels farming, algae cultivating, blue biotech are no longer exotic words in the vocabulary of regional governments and private companies in the Baltic Sea region. Lately, they’ve been generating a lot of knowledge and experience in these sectors. And here projects, like those co-financed by Interreg Baltic Sea Region that provides grants for smart ideas, allow experimentation.”

Elena Kolosova,
Project Officer/Advisor for External Cooperation,
Interreg Baltic Sea Region Managing Authority/Joint Secretariat,
Latvia

Yegor Gaidar Foundation activities in the Baltic Region

“Only a decade ago independent actors such as NGOs, universities and civic initiatives in their international activities were heavily dependent on the political, communicative and often financial support of quasi-independent state agencies. Nowadays, these agencies cannot efficiently target their audiences and moreover be successful in their efforts without extensive support of the mentioned actors.”

Stanislav Usachev,
Head of Strategy and International Co-operation,
Yegor Gaidar Foundation,
Russia

Baltic Rim Economies 1/2020 includes the following Expert articles

Eero Suominen: Trade relations between Finland and South Korea: Room for new innovations and cooperation

Alexander Gremitskikh: Russia, NATO and European security

Mikhail G. Zubov: 80 years of the Moscow agreement on Ålands

Alexey Gromyko: Many strengths, many weaknesses

Jacek Karnowski & Katarzyna Choczaj: Sopot (Poland) and its international cooperation in the Baltic Sea region

Mari Kettunen & Saimi Hoyer: The Saimaa phenomenon – The decade of Saimaa is coming

Kari Lukka: Memories from Pärnu

Pekka Saarinen: New way to make a city

Tellervo Kylä-Harakka-Ruonala: Preparing for the AI era

Elena Kolosova: EU Interreg funding for smart ideas in blue growth

Jürgen Sorgenfrei: Next bunker fuels for high seas

Torbjörn Becker: Transition is not a done deal

Anne L. Clunan: Russia’s trouble with globalisation

Andrew Foxall: Russia’s post-Soviet transition after twenty years of Putinism

Helge Blakkisrud: Vladimir Putin – a Russian nationalist?

Markku Lonkila, Larisa Shpakovskaya & Philip Torchinsky: Social media in civic and political activism in Russia

Jadwiga Rogoza: Protests in Russia: Numerous yet dispersed

Jussi Lassila: From protests to the super years of Russian politics

Marcus Prest: Russian strangeness

Eemil Mitikka: Should we trust Russian surveys?

Sinikka Parviainen: Corruption and business environment in Russia in the 2010s: Real improvement or make-belief?

Stanislav Usachev: Yegor Gaidar Foundation activities in the Baltic Region

Pia Koivunen: Putin’s mega-event boom coming to an end

Natalya Volchkova: The export trap of Russian import substitution policies

Laura Solanko: Will new gas pipelines bring a boost to the Russian economy?

Julia Vainio: Energy security developments in the Russian gas sector

Laura Klemetti & Viktoria Palm: The OPAL gas pipeline: A test for EU energy solidarity

Hilma Salonen & Sohvi Kangasluoma: New energy trends in the Russian Arctic: Could Russia lead the way in becoming a climate leader?

Olga Garanina & Anna Abramova: Russia under the sanctions: From energy sector to digitalization

Andrey N. Terekhov & Stanislav L. Tkachenko: The Russian IT market: Current trends

Mariëlle Wijermars: The stakes are high for Internet freedom in Russia in 2020

Juha Kukkola: The Russian sovereign Internet

Ibrahim Al-Marashi: Collective environmental security: Geopolitical links between the Baltic, Black, and the eastern Mediterranean Seas

Karoliina Rajala: Innovation in the Russian space industry: A military perspective

Ann-Mari Sätre: Reasons for poverty in Russia

Paul Pavitra: The universality of universal health coverage in the Russian Federation

Vasiliy A. Anikin & Anastasia V. Karavay: Human capital in post-transition Russia: Some critical remarks

Peter Holicza: Characterization of Russian youth

Svetlana Erpyleva: Children changing politics

Elena Omelchenko: Russian youth in XXI century

Kristiina Silvan: Government-organized youth organizations in Russia

Jonna Alava: Russia’s Young Army

Sirke Mäkinen & Hanna Peltonen: Training experts in Russian and East European Studies

Jekaterina Lindberg: Russia is reforming its waste system, but can the waste reform Russia?

Moritz Albrecht, Valentina Karginova-Gubinova, Gleb Iarovoi & Taru Peltola: Waste as a problem in rural Russia

Kaisa Vainio: What can be achieved with intercultural exchange?

Eija Schwartz: Multilocal Karelians in the 2020s

Alexander Sergunin: Turning marginality into a competitive advantage: The role of cross-border cooperation

Mikhail Karpov: The gambits of Moscow and Beijing

Kari Liuhto: The EU continues to dominate Russia’s foreign economic relations, though China’s role is still growing