Experience and Prospects of Interaction between Russia and the Modern World System

Abstract

The article considers the problem of Russia’s positioning in the Western-centric world-system. The views of domestic and foreign researchers have been analyzed. It is shown that the constants for Russia are the position of the semi-periphery within the framework of the capitalist world-economy, the features of a land and transcontinental power, as well as an empire, which is characterized by integration imperatives that determine territorial expansion, taking into account the alternation of periods of integration and disintegration, which interact in various proportions with the processes of modernization. The external and internal political results of the cycles of Russian modernization in the context of correlation with the influence of the capitalist world-economy have been characterized. It is substantiated that modernization in Russia led to the most positive consequences when the state was least dependent on the Western-centric capitalist world-economy and strove for autarky and transformations based on the mobilization of internal resources (a conservative model of modernization), which contributed to the achievement of true sovereignty, raising the level of economic development, domestic political centralization and successful integration policy. Relevant recommendations and scenarios for the development of the situation in terms of the correlation of the waves of the Kondratiev cycles with the periods of reforms/counter-reforms in Russia, as well as the cycles of evolution of the world political and economic system with the peculiarities of the Russian political system and foreign policy have been presented. In this regard, two main scenarios for the prospects for interaction between Russia and the capitalist world-economy have been identified. The first scenario is based on the analysis of the correlation of Kondratiev cycles with periods of reforms/counter-reforms in Russia, and the second one is guided by the logic of complete cycles of evolution of the world political and economic system, which seems to be more reasonable.