When Russia Joins WTO, Four of Her Regions May Suffer the Most

When Russia joins the World Trade Organisation, four areas, the Vladimir and Ivanovo Regions, and the republics of Marii El and Chuvashia, may suffer the most. This is according to the report contributed by Liliya Ovcharova, Research Programs Director of the Independent Institute for Social policies, at the Russian Finnish seminar entitled Russia, Globalising World, and the WTO.

The participants of the seminar concluded that the negative economic consequences in question may be caused not by Russia's WTO membership as such but by additional conditions some countries are trying to force on her. For instance, China insists that Russian Far East become opened for Chinese workforce, which may result in the complete loss of this region by Russia. The requirement that the so-called dual pricing be abolished is also rather doubtful to the participants of the seminar. This for instance may refer to the equaling of the domestic and export prices of energy resources, which, if introduced, will create an overpowering financial burden on the majority of Russia's population rendering people unable to pay their utility bills.