4.11 Agricultural policies4.12 Energy policies4.13 Environmental policies4.14 Social development5 Making the Transition
INTRODUCTION TO THE KHABAROVSK DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The Russian Far East is composed of eight political units that cover a vast area of land to theeast of Siberia. Khabarovsk Krai is the principle political unit in the Far East*. It has an area alittle larger than of that of Texas, but is sparsely populated, having a population of about 1.5million. The capital city, also called Khabarovsk, is the regional metropolitan center of the FarEast. Its latitude is the same as Seattle, but — while directly across the Pacific from Seattle — ithas a Siberian continental climate. The Russian Far East, in general, is rich in resources,principally lumber, minerals, fish, coal and natural gas. Its agricultural potential is quitelimited. But there is significant industrial development in the major Far East cities, in partbecause many defense industries were located in the Far East during the Soviet era. Also,metallurgical industries are well developed.With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, Khabarovsk Krai faced the transitional challengesof the former Soviet empire in general, as well as challenges unique to Far East Russia. Therewas, at this time, a window of opportunity to explore a range of new developmental models. Anumber of leading intellectuals of the region had a sophisticated grasp of this position. Theyalso recognized that economic globalism posed a significant threat to the future self-determination of the region. Under the Soviet system, the region had endured economicdomination by Western Russia. As a result, there was strong attraction for a model of development based on bioregional autonomy and economic decentralization. There alsoremained positive appreciation for the socialist value given to collectivity, so that an enterprisesystem that continued to promote social equity and cooperation held appeal.In late 1990, Ronald (Ravi) Logan, then Director of the Prout Institute of North America gave atwo-day seminar on the PROUT model of development to leading progressive intellectuals of Khabarovsk. Those attending saw in PROUT what they had been seeking: a coherent, syntheticdevelopmental theory that stressed regional autonomy, decentralized development, andeconomic democracy. Under the guidance of the Public Academy of Sciences, they moved tostudy and promote the PROUT model.This led to an invitation being extended, by the Governor of Khabarovsk Krai, for the ProutInstitute to participate in a competition among leading economic institutes of the region toconceptualize a vision for the economic future of Khabarovsk Krai. Logan and Carla Dickstein,professor of economics at West Virginia University, collaborated on the drafting of the ProutInstitute's report. The Public Academy of Sciences arranged for Logan and Dickstein to bebriefed by leading authorities on the Khabarovsk Krai's problems and potentialities. Within theshort time of three weeks, concentrated by the time pressure of the competition deadline, theyproduced a report that was later published and disseminated by the Public Academy of Sciences.
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