... incomes now exists in the country, particularly in the larger cities. And this leads naturally to the third lesson of the last 20 years of reform — that economic growth eventually leads to a demand for political reforms. The dispute over the "modernization theory" first put forward more than 50 years ago by U.S. sociologist Seymour Lipset, has now ended — at least for Russia. It no longer matters who correct — those who argued that democracy must be introduced to end corruption...

India has decided to buy 126 fighter jets from France, taken delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia and prepared for its first aircraft carrier in recent weeks as it modernizes its military to match China's. NEW DELHI — India has decided to buy 126 fighter jets from France, taken delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia and prepared for its first aircraft carrier in recent weeks as it modernizes...

... typewriters, or about 22,000 rubles per machine. The Federal Security Service paid over 2 million rubles ($67,000) for an order of nearly 100 typewriters, or about 22,000 rubles per machine, the marker.ru news site reported. The machines are thoroughly modern, with interchangeable heads that allow for easy switching between Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, the FSB said. The security service did not clarify why it did not purchase computers, which have similar functionality and sell for comparable prices...

... business climate," Putin wrote, in what was his only mention of Medvedev. "But we have not yet seen any noticeable improvements." In previous articles published in Izvestia and Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Putin addressed the issue of ethnicity in modern Russia and political questions surrounding the December State Duma elections. Monday's sweeping piece covered the principal financial, commercial and political contours of Russian economic life. Putin did not shy away from criticizing the structure...

... disproportionately greater role in the political process. In most other countries, voters evaluate candidates based on their domestic policies or track records, especially with regard to the economy. It would be difficult to find any country in the modern world besides Russia where an ordinary meeting between opposition leaders and the U.S. ambassador would elicit any particular reaction. The hyped reaction caused by that meeting at the U.S. Embassy on Jan. 17 is proof that the paranoid fears Josef...

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is seeking as much as $600 million in Russian government investment to help the Central American country modernize and develop its oil and tourism industries. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is seeking as much as $600 million in Russian government investment to help the Central American country modernize and develop its oil and tourism industries...

... Kislovodsk, effectively guaranteeing that the bill would not become law before the end of Medvedev's term in May. The measure was the latest reform effort to crumble under Medvedev's watch, which began in 2008 with high hopes for the creation of a "modernized" Russia. No area of life was to go untouched: he would tackle corruption, modernize the economy, open up the political system, streamline the country's bloated bureaucracy and even get Russians to live healthier lives. Liberals hoped that...

... Vremyon do Nachala 20 Veka): permanent display. Located at 1/2 Red Square. M. Ploshchad Revolyutsii. Ticket office open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Tues. and the first Mon. of the month. 692-4019/5660, www.shm.ru Moscow Museum of Modern Art on Gogolevsky: New Dust and Scratches: works by prominent contemporary photographers, Tues. to Feb. 19. Located at 10 Gogolevsky Bulvar. Metro Kropotkinskaya. Noon to 7 p.m. 694-6600, www.mmoma.ru Moscow Museum of Modern Art on Tverskoi: MT...

... sculptor and artist best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures, Wed. to May 10. Located at the Moscow Kremlin. Borovitsky Gate entrance. M. Borovitskaya. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Thurs. 495-695-4146, www.kreml.ru/en Moscow Museum of Modern Art on Gogolevsky: Dust and Scratches: works by prominent contemporary photographers, to Sun. Located at 10 Gogolevsky Bulvar. Metro Kropotkinskaya. Noon to 7 p.m. 694-6600, www.mmoma.ru Moscow Museum of Modern Art on Tverskoi: MT Pick Juan Hernandez...

... claims to be the first of its kind in Russia and is almost certainly the only place where you can find kefir containers with political slogans on them and a United Russia booklet on wedding anniversary presents. For the first time in the history of modern Russia, there is sufficient interest in politics to justify such a display, curator Elena Strukova explained. "People have started to be interested in politics. They're beginning to understand that their vote counts for something," she...

... model fascism because it predates fascism by 7 million years. This model, which is the only form of government that is a mixture of humans and chimpanzees, would be more accurately called "alpha-ism." The most fundamental difference is that modernization was the driving force of fascism. Fascism hoped to conquer open society through war and attain impressive technical achievements during the preparations for that war. Wartime posters of Mussolini surrounded by airplanes in flight, menacing...

... Siberia's capital is surely Tyumen. Buoyed by the seemingly infinite oil and gas wealth channeled through the city from the icy north of the Tyumen region, the capital dazzles with a beautiful mixture of exquisitely restored tsarist-era buildings and modern office buildings abuzz with business. Founded in 1586 as the first Siberian fort, Tyumen was a bastion of support for the White Army during the Russian Civil War until Commander Vasily Blyukher swept into the city in 1919. During World War II...

... company Frost & Sullivan said in November that the market for water and wastewater treatment was on the rise. It reached about $918 million in 2010. "Water supply and wastewater treatment facilities are in most cases outdated and require immediate modernization, replacement and introduction of modern treatment solutions," Frost & Sullivan research analyst Paulina Szyplinska said in the report. Anton Lipatov, chief of the Cleandex analytical portal on clean technology, highlighted industrial...

... is put into motion. Subbotina gives the play a contemporary feel even as she references its historical past. Andrei's extravagant sausage-making machine looks both ancient and futuristic at once, rather like something out of Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times." The sausages it creates are portrayed comically by long, red balloons. Characters open up computers or pull out smart phones to check facts on the Internet. Those attending the football match — including the spectators —...

... young protesters of Cairo's Tahrir Square were fully representative of Egyptian society. They were not. Rural Egypt, like rural Russia, is much more conservative than the young elites who seize the world's imagination with their protests and embrace of modern social media. Furthermore, Mubarak was old and sick and no longer enjoyed the trust of his people. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, by contrast, exudes energy and health and may still reassure many segments of Russian society whose main concern is...

... ultimately answers for his or her own fate. That is surely what it means when the saddened Negina gives the stage a light push to send the devoted Petya on his way. At nearly four hours running time, this show is a gauntlet flung at the speed-addicted modern world. Actors take their time speaking, listening, watching and reacting. Nemolyayeva's charming and deceptively whimsical Domna Pantelevna repeatedly stops to ask if someone wants a cup of tea. The show pauses to savor everything — joy,...

... Party leader Gennady Zyuganov. But while Zyuganov still remains Putin's most serious opponent in the March election, analysts said he wouldn't be able to use the same anti-Communist rhetoric. "Zyuganov might be an old guy, but he is surrounded by modern people who understand modern realities," said Mark Feigin, a political commentator and member of the Solidarnost opposition movement. Feigin said the Russian middle class "has grown fat enough" in the past few years and is ready...

... companies over the coming six years, according to a schedule distributed by the Economic Development Ministry. The plans, presented by Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina at this week’s meeting of President Dmitry Medvedev’s modernization council, are an update of an original draft released in the summer of 2010. Volatile market conditions have delayed plans to sell several stakes, originally aimed at raising $200 billion for the state budget as well as improving corporate...

... together. The country has paid the price. The use of traditional forms of realpolitik often simply means the pursuit of short-term gain at the expense of healthy long-term development. Peter the Great may have won the Great Northern War, but his impatient modernization strategy polarized the country at a cultural level in a way that was never fully resolved under the tsars. Likewise, the expansion of the Russian state under Catherine the Great may have added to Russia's European reputation, but —...

... powerful Governor Eduard Rossel also threatened to create a Urals republic. Putin has stated previously that he saw the notion of’ “Soviet nationality” and the uniting of different republics under one umbrella as a positive model for modern Russia. In 2010, he even publicly clashed with President Dmitry Medvedev who said the peaceful coexistence during Soviet times was only maintained through “tough” methods. But opposition leader and political columnist Mark Feigin...