OREANDA-NEWS. January 26, 2010. RUSNANO CEO Anatoly Chubais recently took part in the international conference “Russia and the Global World: New Decade Challenges.” Mr. Chubais delivered a speech on building an innovation economy in Russia.

The Institute for the Economy in Transition, the Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation, and the Committee on Improving the Sustainability of the Russian Economy of the Expert Council under the Government of the Russian Federation, sponsored the conference, which was held on  January 21-23, 2010.

The conference was dedicated to the memory of Yegor Gaidar.

The conference took  the form of panel and a expert roundtable discussions in which participants were able to present their views and discuss the trends in Russia’s development and the challenges they pose.

Anatoly Chubais hosted the plenary session, which was held on the final day of the conference. His speech was devoted to building an innovation economy in Russia. Mr. Chubais made the following key points:

1. Innovative development is a charge that has not been fulfilled by either the Soviet or the Russian economy.

2. The historical reserve of time for establishing an innovation economy in Russia is dwindling away; its falloff behind the leaders in this sphere may become irreversible.

3. In today’s Russia, notwithstanding acute socio-political problems, neither the economic nor the socio-political mechanisms block the start of building an innovation economy.

4. An innovation economy in Russia can be built entirely on fundamental market institutes with simultaneous reconsideration of the role of government.

5. The building of an innovation economy in Russia is a tremendously complex socio-economic reform, requiring long-term political will and powerful intellectual support. But it can be achieved in a foreseeable period of 10–20 years.