The Plan for the Modernization of Russia
Ariel Cohen, a Russian expert with the Heritage Foundation, comments on Vladislav Surkov, the head architect of Russia's political landscape, and his new line of business. Surkov wants to create a Russian "Silicon Valley". Cohen believes that Surkov is waiting for a miracle from this project. He asks: "Isn't it obvious that in the post-industrial era, where Surkov is intending to lead Russia, such a kind of development models, based on centralization and command administration, are doomed to failure?"
Surkov laments that Russian private business isn't sensitive to the topic of innovations and to economic modernization in general. But Cohen notes that he is ignoring the demotivation of business in view of the volatility of property rights and the justice system. Moreover, Surkov openly declares that modernization is going to be authoritarian. He concludes that Surkov realizing his ambitions would be nothing short of a miracle.
Georgy Satarov comments that Surkov speaks untruth when he hints at unknown supporters of some kind of political modernization, "under which is implied political laxity, ‘anything goes'". There is no such "school". He distorts the truth too when he says: "Spontaneous modernization - this is a cultural phenomenon (specifically cultural, and not political), and it was achieved only in the Anglo-Saxon countries". Surkov habitually says the untruth about the years of the 90s in Russia.