CIAO DATE: 01/2011
November 2010
Finnish Institute for International Affairs
Rumour has it that prior to his first visit to Beijing in spring 2008, President Medvedev instructed offi - cials at the Ministry of Trade and Development to take a picture of Moscow that would aptly convey Russia’s drive for modernization and innovation to his Chinese hosts. In carrying out his orders, employees from the ministry spent two months looking for a suitable place to photograph, but it is not known whether they were successful in their quest or not. Perhaps the story is only apocryphal, and no such order was ever given. Nevertheless, the anecdote has sown the seeds of doubt in the minds of the country’s current leadership that there is actually not that much to see when it comes to the campaign for the ‘technological modernization’ of Russia.
Resource link: Russia's modernization reloaded: Political constraints on economic development [PDF] - 2.0M