Why have first deputy chief of staff Vladislav Surkov’s plans to build a Russian Silicon Valley prompted such a large public debate on whether modernization is possible without democracy?
In my opinion, discussing the theory of modernization with Surkov is like discussing game theory with a con artist. If a casino craps table has a hidden magnet underneath and the blackjack dealer is using a stacked deck, the magnet and the dealer determine who wins, not game theory.
To understand which types of projects will be funded in the Silicon Valley dreamed up by Surkov, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, we can forget about theory and just look at which projects already receive government financing.
Topping the list is scientist Viktor Petrik and his co-inventor, State Duma Speaker and United Russia leader Boris Gryzlov, who invented a perpetual motion machine and a real philosopher’s stone under the guise of a water-purification filter. Prior to Petrik, the last person to claim knowledge of the philosopher’s stone was a 18th-century Italian mystic and adventurer, Count Cagliostro. But Petrik, firmly grounded in 21st-century innovation, is boldly requesting 1.5 trillion rubles ($50.2 billion) for his filter device. He’ll probably get it, don’t you think?
Another miracle of Russian science is the Glonass satellite navigation system. This year, four separate budget items account for more than 10 billion rubles ($334 million) in funding for Glonass.
The most expensive part of the Glonass system is the Russian satellites, and they are already in orbit or are included among the secret items of the military budget. Thus, the 10 billion rubles is in addition to the main funding and is intended solely for developing the receiving device that differs little from an ordinary satellite telephone. That’s an awful lot of money for developing technology that already exists.
How about this for another example of modernization: In October, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Rusnano director Anatoly Chubais visited the Mikron factory in Zelenograd outside Moscow where technicians had created Russia’s latest microchip with spans of only 180 nanometers. The visit also marked the signing of a $500 million agreement to purchase unbelievably advanced technology from the French and Italian STMicroelectronics firm capable of producing circuits with spans of only 90 nanometers. The problem is that elsewhere researchers have managed to halve the possible circuit span every 18 months or so, and just two weeks before Putin’s historic visit, Intel announced a microprocessor using spans of only 32 nanometers.
What is the point of buying European technology that is already outmoded and that will be obsolete by the time it is brought to market two years from now? That is just the easiest way to transfer money overseas.
So there is no reason to spend a lot of time discussing whether modernization is possible without democratization. The Chinese example proves that it is, in fact, possible. But that argument is irrelevant in this case. No matter how hard Surkov tries to build a Silicon Valley in Russia, it will just end up being another Lake Seliger.
Yulia Latynina hosts a political talk show on Ekho Moskvy radio.