National Strategy for Sustainable Development

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

On behalf of the Russian government, a strategy for sustainable development of the country until 2020 was developed, which is called "Strategy-2020". More than a thousand experts worked on it for a whole year, and in 2011, with the help of specialists from the HSE and RANEPA, they coped with the program. This is the second version of the development of the KDR (the concept of long-term development), the first version was completed in 2007 by the Ministry of Economic Development and other departments, and the development was carried out on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation.

First option

The concept (strategy) of sustainable development in the first version was intended to identify ways and means to ensure in the long term a sustainable increase in the well-being of citizens of the Russian Federation, nationalsecurity, dynamic development of the economy, strengthening the positions of the Russian Federation in the world community. The development covered the perspective from 2008 to 2020, and its final text (CRA-2020) was approved by the government in November 2008.

The appearance of the second option was necessary for two reasons. The Sustainable Development Strategy was approved at a time when the global financial and economic crisis intensified significantly. While the concept was being developed, it has not yet affected all countries, only developed ones, to which the Russian Federation did not belong. However, the sustainable development strategy was approved in autumn 2008, when the crisis came to our country. Realities were changing rapidly, and the result was that even at the time of the adoption of the concept, all of its postulates turned out to be outdated.

Crisis

The crisis led to a very sharp and profound drop in all economic indicators, and therefore most of the targets even for the first stage of the implementation of the CRA-2020 turned out to be unrealistic. The National Strategy for Sustainable Development initially covered the period from 2007 to 2012. It was planned to achieve an increase in life expectancy by two and a half years by the end of this period.

GDP was to grow by thirty-eight percent and productivity growth to forty-one percent. GDP was supposed to reduce energy intensity by nineteen percent. The real incomes of the population were planned to increase by fifty-four percent. And there are many other landmarks that it was not possible to achieve.

Second reason

By the nature of the development, the national strategy for sustainable development in its first version was clearly departmental, where all the quantitative targets that needed to be achieved by 2020 specifically in each area are indicated in detail. However, the problems that Russian society and its economy faced were not analyzed in detail. The way to achieve each goal was formulated declaratively.

For example: "A society should be formed based on the responsibility and trust of the population in private and public economic institutions. Social polarization will decrease due to equal opportunities for all segments of society and social mobility, the focus of social policy on supporting vulnerable segments of the population and integration migrants." Naturally, such formulations can only ring loudly from their inner emptiness.

Second option

The Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Russian Federation in its second version was developed in 2011 by order of the Prime Minister. Twenty-one expert groups were created, which were led at the sites of two universities - NRU HSE and RANEPA, their rectors Vladimir Mau and Yaroslav Kuzminov. Several hundred discussions, discussions and meetings took place. Russia's sustainable development strategy was developed by Russians and not only - more than a hundred experts from abroad actively participated in creating a plan for the future life of our long-suffering Motherland.

Among the Russians who created the program by which we already livethe seventh year, in particular, worked: Lev Yakobson, Yevsei Gurvich, Sergei Drobyshevsky, Vladimir Gimpelson, Ksenia Yudaeva, Isak Frumin, Alexander Auzan, Mikhail Blinkin and many more. Meetings were held regularly, and materials were published on the Internet pages of the website dedicated to "Strategy-2020". Many meetings were held in open mode, the press paid quite a lot of attention to the work of the groups. The sustainable development strategy of the republic has been developed in almost all CIS countries - in Kazakhstan, Belarus and others.

Final report

Experts divided their work into two stages. During the first half of 2011, up until August, development options and measures were worked out that would correspond to this development. After that, an interim report of six hundred pages was submitted to the government.

Further, the ministries and departments discussed it and determined directions for finalizing this document. The final report was prepared in volume of eight hundred and sixty-four pages by December 2011, and in March 2012 the strategy for sustainable socio-economic development in a new version was published (under a longer title).

The people were asked

During 2012, sociological studies were carried out in order to clarify the attitude in various sectors of society towards the proposals contained in the "Strategy-2020". It should be noted that thisdocument, many more opponents were found than adherents.

Special claims were made against the materials presented by group 3 (Ksenia Yudaeva, Tatiana Maleva), who developed the reform of the pension system, group 5 (Leonid Gokhberg), which outlined the transition to the growth of innovation, group 6 (Alexander Galushka, Sergey Drobyshevsky) - on tax policy, group 7 (Vladimir Gimpelson and others) regarding the labor market, migration policy and vocational education.

The work of group 8 (Isak Frumin, Anatoly Kasprzhak) regarding the new school was scolded by everyone without exception. Nobody believed the conclusions of Vladimir Nazarov and Polina Kozyreva about reducing inequality and overcoming poverty. Specialists objected to German Gref and Oleg Vyugin. Etc. The strategy of sustainable economic development did not arouse the slightest enthusiasm among the people.

Building

There are twenty-five chapters in "Strategy-2020", which are grouped into six sections. There is also an appendix in this document, which describes the "budget maneuver" (this is a change in federal budget spending), a list of measures in each direction of development, which were also considered by experts. The sections in the document are as follows:

1. New growth model.

2. Macroeconomics. Basic growth conditions.

3. Social politics. Human capital.

4. Infrastructure. Comfortable environment, balanced development.

5. An efficient state.

6. Outer loopdevelopment.

"Strategy-2020" in both versions tries to harness "ox and quivering doe" into one cart. Of course, new models of economic growth and social policy are needed. The economy had to be restructured: with the onset of the crisis, domestic demand began to fall rapidly, and the first version of the "strategy" relied on its growth. Russian exports have almost completely rebuilt due to the imposed sanctions, so it makes no sense to rely on previous prices. However, "Strategy-2020" also did not escape from utopian declarations: the country needs economic growth of at least five percent per year, and it should not be based on the export of raw materials and the redistribution of resources in sectors where efficiency is low. Is it too far from our reality?

Maneuver

The main idea of "Strategy-2020" is the very maneuver that was supposed to allow the use of previously unused factors of competitiveness. For example, such. High quality human potential and scientific potential. Where can I get it? Among working professions, professionals have long since run out, since there are no factories or appropriate education, and Russian science, at best, works - also not very well - in the military-industrial complex and the space industry, the bulk of the best minds have long been working abroad countries.

Social policy is built by experts in such a way that the interests ofthe poorest segments of the population, but the stratum that implements innovative development, that is, the very mythical "middle class" capable of choosing any models of consumption and labor. The experts assumed in their growth model a gradual decline in inflation in order to adopt new fiscal rules that would regulate budget spending (depending on oil prices). They considered the increase in spending to be inefficient and unjustified, and this is precisely what they see as an obstacle to the stability and balance of the budget. Already five years later, it is clear that social policy is directed by experts in a completely different direction from the people. The external environment has not become less aggressive in relation to business, the business climate has not improved, the competitive environment may have survived, but not all of it.

Post-industrial country

Experts saw our economy in the near future as post-industrial, based on service industries that are focused on the development of human capital, that is, it is an economy where medicine, education, media and information technologies, even design will be most important. Here, of course, there would be competitive advantages if they were not wasted through the constant underfunding of all social systems, as well as due to extremely inefficient management.

"Strategy-2020" would like to restore and consolidate these comparative advantages of our country in the field of medicine, education, culture, but where can we find them now? Those human resources that were competitive have grown old, and new ones are already being taught extremelybad. It is now simply scary to be treated by young doctors, there is practically nothing to learn from young teachers, nothing good has happened to culture yet.

Another maneuver

Towards a post-industrial economy, the country must make this "budget maneuver", that is, change priorities in budget spending. Experts suggest that by 2020 they will finance infrastructure by four percent of GDP more, and in order to balance the budget, they will reduce spending by the same four percent in the areas of security and defense, in spending on the state apparatus, and also reduce subsidies to enterprises. Ordinary Russian citizens were outraged at the discussions of this "manoeuvre" strategy, calling such a plan irresponsible, some even used the word "sabotage".

maximum. Politicians choose the best, of course.

Experts and power

When the final report was published, the curators of this work counted on the unconditional support of the main proposals from the president and the government, despite the fact that differences of opinion were present from the beginning. This is especially true of pension reform.

As a result, many provisions of the "Strategy-2020" are already included in the program of activities of government agencies:these are parking problems in the capital (author Mikhail Blinkin), the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development are introducing a budget rule that regulates the level of public debt and budget spending, for example. The pension reform is also being carried out according to the proposals of the "Strategy-2020", which causes an active and very emotional discussion. What can I say about the reform of housing and communal services…

Common Humanity

The strategy for the sustainable development of mankind, developed in 1987 and adopted by an international commission, is still hotly discussed by world leaders today. The statement about the significance of this problem was first voiced by the UN General Assembly. At the same time, many countries (including Russia) adopted this principle of development, which provides for the responsibility of the state and the entire civil society to future generations in ensuring that needs are met.

Geographical aspects of the strategy of sustainable development of mankind are that it is necessary to overcome the heterogeneity of social systems. To implement the principle of responsibility of citizens for the welfare of future generations, a model of the future of civilization was developed, which combined three areas: economic, social and environmental. The strategy of sustainable development of the environment, for example, should lead to the stability of the planet's ecological systems, to the elimination of the threat to the existence of mankind.