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RUSSIAN VICTIM?REPOSITIONING STRATEGIESAND REGIONAL DREAMS OF DOMINANCE

RUSSIAN NEMESIS?COLD WAR PATHOLOGIESAND ANALYTICAL AFFLICTIONS

“PYRRHIC SOVEREIGNTY”THE TREASURE OF THE TENGIZ

KEEPING IT REALALMATY 2022

LEARN, EXPLORE, SHAREMULTICULTURALISM AS LIFESTYLE IN AZERBAIJAN

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PROJECT TEAM

DiMiTRis GiAnnAkOPOulOsDR. MATThEw CROssTOn

PETRA POsEGATEJA PAlkO

luisA MOnTEiROninA lAvREnTEvA

GAbRiElA PAsChOlATi DO AMARAlbRiAn huGhEsTAylOR MORsE

JEAnETTE JJ hARPERDiAnnE A. vAlDEzEvAn ThOMsEn

THE CASPIAN PROJECT

A WEEKLY EDITIONFROM THE MODERN DIPLOMACY

The status-obsessed country has expressedits desire to integrate the former Soviet re-publics in Central Asia and the Caucasusinto a new Moscow-centric coalition calledthe Eurasian Union. This alliance would helppromote Russia to a greater position of au-thority in the areas of politics, energy, eco-nomic governance, and internationalsecurity.However, Russia has some major hurdlesahead. In the year since Russian PresidentVladimir Putin announced the official an-nexation of Crimea to the Russian Federa-tion, the country has experienced a seriousdownturn in terms of Western affection.While the move did, for the most part, im-prove Putin’s image in the eyes of the Russ-ian people – who had begun to doubt thepresident’s ability to foster economicgrowth and prosperity – it clearly demon-strated the potential to lead to a completebreakdown of relations with its old rival, theUnited States. The U.S., whose sanctionshave forced Russia’s economy to turn in-wards, views Russia’s actions as aggressiveand challenging.

These U.S.-imposed sanctions -retribution for what it considersRussia’s stealth invasion ofUkraine – are concerning to thecountries of Central Asia andthe Caucasus because Russiahas expanded its control overtheir key industries (like energy,transport, and telecoms) andhas helped keep them afloateconomically during difficulttimes with generous economiccooperation and postpone-ments of debt. Russia still hasstrong economic, security, andcultural ties with the former So-viet republics, which have sig-nificant ethnic Russianpopulations, host Russian mili-tary bases, and get most of theirnews and entertainment fromRussian media providers, butthe sanctions can seriouslythreaten the future of these re-lationships.As much as Russia longs to drawthese countries into an eventighter embrace, they appear tobe seriously rethinking this newreunion with Russia. Many areconcerned with Russia’s grow-ing role and its flailing econ-omy, which was already slowingbefore the Ukraine crisis.

as a new wave of non-western countries strive to ele-vate their profiles and expand their global influence, Russia is tak-ing steps to help secure its future as their leader.

RUssian Victim?

Jeanette "JJ"Harper

Jeanette "JJ" Harperis a graduate student

in the InternationalSecurity and Intelli-

gence Studiesprogram at Bellevue

University in Omaha,NE, USA.

WWW.modeRndiplomacY.eU tHe caspian pRoJect

Repositioning stRategies and Regional dReams of dominance

These nations can’t help but be wary of theimplications of a new union with Russia sorelatively soon after the dissolution of the So-viet Union (in geopolitical terms, a singlegeneration is not a long time.) Unfortunately,the reality is that as Russia continues to di-vorce itself from the West it will likely call onits former Soviet neighbors to choose theiralliances. This at a time when the countriesof Central Asia and the Caucasus would mostprefer maintaining multiple alliances with asmany countries that want to cooperate withthem.Since their bequeathed Post-Soviet inde-pendence, the ‘stan’ countries have beenwedged between the two superpowers ofRussia and China and have been in closeproximity to the instability of Iran andAfghanistan. Making the best of this geo-graphical arrangement, they have learnedhow to keep the region relatively stable bybalancing the interests of the superior re-gional powers and considering the interestsof the United States. Even though they arenot particularly happy with the events withinUkraine, their desire to keep a delicate bal-ance in the region (friends to all, neutral mostoften) is most likely the justification for notisolating Russia or publically criticizingPutin’s Ukrainian strategies.

And then there is the issue of Iran and its re-cent nuclear deal with the P5+1 countries.The Caucasus countries of Azerbaijan, Geor-gia, and Armenia and the Central Asian ‘stans’may see the lifting of Iran’s sanctions as anopportunity for them to move away fromRussian dependence. Iran is no longer offlimits as a trade partner and a southern routethrough it would effectively change the dy-namics of trade in the region, giving thesmaller countries of the region more lever-age at the bargaining table. This would makeit at least plausibly easier to resist Russia’sgrowing sphere of influence.At the same time, Russia, who played an es-sential role in securing Iran’s deal, has everyintention of benefiting from it by securing lu-crative contracts for itself in Iran’s key sectorssuch as energy and shipping. Also, with theprestige and status as Iran’s main ally, it willmost likely use it to improve its global posi-tion if not necessarily its international image.Iran stands to benefit from the relationshipas well. Under sanctions, Iran’s underdevel-oped sectors suffered and now they are freeto build up. This means they will need foreigninvestment – a role Russia is only too happyto fill. The Kremlin has expressed its desire topeacefully cooperate with Iran in the devel-opment of Iran’s civilian nuclear energy pro-gram.But for many, this does not bode well. Even-tually, the issue of Iran’s arms industry willcome up again. In five years when the em-bargo is lifted per the deal, there will befierce competition among countries thatwould sell arms to Iran. With Russia becom-ing increasingly at odds with the West, itsemphatic support of and alliance with Iran –whose nuclear deal does not do much to im-prove its relationship with the United Statesper se – is highly suspicious and, in my opin-ion, goes beyond just helping it recover eco-nomically.

UnfoRtUnatelY, tHe RealitY is tHat asRUssia continUes to

diVoRce itself fRomtHe West it Will likelY

call on its foRmeRsoViet neigHboRs to

cHoose tHeiR alliances

Because Iran has been clear about its inten-tion to uphold its anti-American policies andhas plans to continue providing its supportto its allies in the region – who also have neg-ative feelings toward the West – this unionshould be looked upon with at least someconcern and apprehension.

With Russia recently joining the Asian Infra-structure Investment Bank and taking actionto integrate the Eurasian Economic Unionwith the Silk Road Economic Belt, there is nodoubt that Russia is positioning itself toreemerge as the dominant figure in the non-Western world. A figure that desperately de-sires to have the same kind of influence theUnited States has over its Western allies. Butif this is what Russia really wants, it will haveto change the way it relates to its smallerneighbors. Instead of projecting the imagethat it wants to “collect them,” perhaps it

should instead redirect its diplomatic energyto soothe them as real partners, equal andengaged.While international relations have neverbeen Russia’s strong suit in the West – takeits revoked G8 membership status as evi-dence – this doesn’t mean it isn’t capable. Forexample, it could start by improving itsimage by ceasing to present itself as a victim.It could, instead, start to take responsibilityfor its own misfortunes. It could stop refer-ring to the break-up of the Soviet Union as atragedy and can instead treat it as an oppor-tunity to reinvent itself to become a vital partof the international community. The lastthing the international community wants tosee is Russia head down the road to totaleconomic collapse but if the country contin-ues to violate international norms, it will onlyfurther isolate itself - maybe even to thepoint of another Cold War with the West.

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In the midst of this there has been very littleconsideration of the impact of Americanpositioning on the Russian perspective. Thisarticle briefly examines that influence,whether it is the openly adversarial neocon-servative foundation under George Bush orthe Republican Party in general, the so-called ‘reset’ interaction under BarackObama, or American foreign policy analystsand academics meant to be experts on Rus-sia. What will be exposed is a fairly unin-spired and non-innovative American policythat not only fails to consider Russian initia-tives from Russia’s own national security in-terests, but aims to contain Russia within acontinued Cold War box that not only soursopportunities for collaboration but guaran-tees the absence of partnership in impor-tant global security areas. The idea thatRussia’s contemporary positions have notevolved beyond the residue of Cold Warmentalities seems to be more a product ofscholars and practitioners in the West ratherthan in the institutions of Russia itself.

This piece examines the conse-quences of imagining Russiaonly as nemesis and whetherthe West is more responsible forthis Cold War pathology than itis willing to admit.There are numerous think tanks,both in the United States andRussia, which are deeply con-cerned about the state of Russ-ian-American relations. Placeslike the Moscow Carnegie Cen-tre or the Brookings Institute inWashington DC are regular go-to places for the media whenseeking expert opinion andanalysis. However, these centershave had a decided slant in al-locating blame for the poor bi-lateral relations to the Russians,with the explanations rangingfrom the fairly simple to therather mystically esoteric. Whatthe American media outlets andthink tank personalities fail torecognize is how much of thisjudgment is coming not fromexplicitly observable behavioror direct quotes from Russianactors but is placed upon Russiaby the so-called experts them-selves as they push a decidedlyone-sided interpretation.

there have been nuMerous artiCles on the authoritarianstrengthening of power in Russia and Putin’s backsliding fromdemocracy throughout the 2000s. Russian positions and initiativesin Syria, Iran, and Ukraine have been portrayed within media ven-ues across the West as evidence of quasi-Soviet revanchism.

rUssian neMesis?

Dr. MatthewCrosstonSenior Editor

Matthew Crosston isProfessor of PoliticalScience, Director of

the InternationalSecurity and Intelli-

gence StudiesProgram, and the

Miller Chair atBellevue University

WWW.ModerndiPloMaCy.eU the CasPian ProJeCt

Cold War Pathologies and analytiCal affliCtions

What Russia usually finds so irksome is thatwhen it does what everyone else does interms of exercising global power, it is judgedas psychologically unstable or deficient. Inshort, if the United States does not trust Rus-sia, it is because of how Russia behaves onthe global stage and its untrustworthy his-tory. If Russia does not trust the UnitedStates, that is simply Russian posturing anda case of political transference, wanting toblame its own self-made problems on some-one else so that it can avoid any accountabil-ity. The problem is how readily this isunquestioningly accepted and how few so-called Russian experts are willing to step for-ward and shine a light on such intellectualsuperficiality.Moving toward straight politics, while muchhope was initially placed on the so-calledObama ‘reset’ in American relations with Rus-sia in 2008, the reality is that enthusiasmquickly faded and subsequently placed theDemocratic Party as squarely adversarial inits attitude toward Russia as the Republicans.Indeed, in today’s environment of dividedgovernment, having a problem with Russiaseems to be one of the few happy consensuspoints in Washington.

The problem, of course, is how that consen-sus is built more upon partisan posturing:each side trying to one-up the other in orderto earn foreign policy merit points. There aresome voices that decry a picture beingpainted about Russia that combines inaccu-racy with heightened rhetoric while pur-posely ignoring mitigating contexts and lessnegative observations. However, thosevoices are extremely rare and at the momenteasily drowned out by the drumbeat ofAmerican derision.

This perfectly matches what Stephen Cohenastutely characterized several years back as‘Cold War Triumphalism.’ In basic terms, sinceRussia lost the Cold War it was and should betreated as a de facto defeated nation. This tri-umphalism has arguably never left Americandecision-making power given that the ad-vent of this attitude began with President BillClinton and has lasted through three presi-dencies (two Democrat, one Republican), to-taling six terms and 24 years. In other words,the American attitudinal perspective towardRussia has witnessed a literal generationpassing where the United States has felt jus-tified in selective cooperation, one-way bar-gaining, uneven playing fields andreluctance on its own part to bury the ghostsof the past because said ghosts give it a de-cided political advantage.

In a sense, the debate is one of degree: thereis no doubt Russia has accepted that the endof the Cold War signaled a decided shift inthe balance of power. It did not, however,allow that change to mean Russia was nowpermanently relegated to the status of na-tion-state also-ran.

What rUssia UsUallyfinds so irksoMe

is that When it doesWhat everyone else

does in terMs ofexerCising globalPoWer, it is JUdged

as PsyChologiCallyUnstable or defiCient

And quite frankly, too many voices in Amer-ican institutions of power, both governmen-tally and academically, have taken thatrelegation as an unquestioned reality. Aslong as the two nations continue to engageeach other with this attitudinal chasm, thenthe relationship will continue to be doggedby vast differences of opinion and massivelydivergent interpretations.The opportunity to evolve American analysison Russia has always been present but ulti-mately missed. This only makes other analy-ses that offer up platitudes about Russianmysticism seeking great power or the Russ-ian bear needing to bare its claws or the in-nate inability of Russia to ever embracedemocracy more troubling.

Even fine scholars and commentators haveall produced work in the last two years thatcontinue this trend and thus have furtherconcretized a vision of U.S.-Russia relationsthat seems doomed to animus. The issue athand seems to be that too many powerfuldecision-makers in the West feel lately as ifthey were a bit bamboozled and outplayed,especially with the situation in Ukraine. Theyfelt, rightly or wrongly, as if they ended upwith proverbial diplomatic egg on their facesand they did not like it. Even worse, itseemed they could not stand the possibilitythat this game of chicken ended with onlyone round (Crimea) and there would be noopportunity to regain the upper hand withfuture rounds.

WWW.ModerndiPloMaCy.eU the CasPian ProJeCt

Thus, this situation cannot be just aboutCrimea. Russia must not be satisfied with thisas the end game. There simply must be an-other chess piece to be moved. Because,well, just because: because Russians aren’tsupposed to be diplomatically agile and as-tute. And they most certainly cannot bestrategically deft and subtle. At least, notwhen they are compared to their counter-parts in the West, who think Russians arerash; Russians are emotional; Russians arecapricious; Russians are sneaky; and quitefrankly, Russians are a bit daft. All of thesethings they can be because all of thesethings suit the players at the other end of thechess board. This is the danger of Cold Warpathology: it starts to warp observation sothat it caters to the desired opinion outcome.

Conflicts are never clean. War has alwaysbeen this way and it is unlikely that war willbe something different any time soon. ButSyria, Ukraine, and now Iran have been ratherfrustrating events for many in the West, andespecially for those who feel that Russia andthe United States line up better as allies andnot adversaries. The United States has notbeen able to come up with something inno-vative or progressive that might create a newthought process to stop the Cold War pathol-ogy with which it is afflicted. Faced by thispolitical impotence, the players in the Westseem to have fallen back on the tried-and-true tactic of conjuring a bogeyman. Clearly, that bogeyman is Russia. Alas, it isalso somewhat lame because this tactic isnot about stopping war or creating new dia-logue or fostering true engagement, butrather just about assigning blame. It is abouttreading down old paths well-worn with mis-communication and purposeful animosity. Itis an AFFLICTION, not an ANALYSIS.

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The relatively high levels of regional coop-eration between the US, Russia, Iran, andthe Caspian nations rose from these factorstwo decades ago. Or, rather dialectically,rose from the phenomenological inabilityof most of the actors to engage in a zero-sum game. As these factors converge todayour attention should focus on the dialecti-cal shift - are we entering a zero-sum gameor a second verse to the recent history ofmarket power cooperation?

The conditions of the market, and that ofthe actors in the Caspian, are similar todayas they were in the mid to late 1990s. TheUS is readjusting its position in the marketthrough overseas and domestic expansion;Russia is balancing the test of their geopo-litical muscle with economic contraction;and Russia and Iran remain uneasy bedfel-lows in order to maintain their sharedgeostrategic interests against encroachingWestern and Chinese competition andneeds. Meanwhile, economic warfare is justthe beginning as the global price drop andunsteady market fluctuations are likely tolast well past the next decade.

The Tengiz oil field is at the cen-ter of this economic dance,both in the 90s and today.Chevron’s entrance into theWestern portion of Kazakhstandid not come without regionalbacklash. This, among othersimilar US corporate ventures,pushed Russia and Iran into astrategic partnership and cre-ated Russian-led legal debatesaround drilling rights andCaspian Sea boundaries for thebetter part of the decade.Two factors were largely at playin Russia’s capitulation - its weakeconomy and a lack of a clearstrategic purpose. In the late90s it would have been easier toargue that this represented avictory for liberal institutional-ism and an opportunity for co-operation between former foes.Today, I argue that the choice ofcooperation was an illusion inthat it was the only choice trulyavailable.

hisTory doEs noT rEpEaT iTsElf, but it often rhymes - or so goes theadage. This is at play in the Caspian today as we witness the convergence ofgeo-political tension, energy market expansion, and price manipulation.

“PYRRHIC SOvEREIgNTY”THE TREASURE Of THE TENgIz

Evan ThomsEn

Evan Thomsenis a graduate of the

International Securityand Intelligence

Studies Program atBellevue University in

Omaha, NE and iscurrently a Master’s

student at the world-renown Elliott School

of InternationalAffairs at The George

WashingtonUniversity in

Washington, DC.

WWW.MODERNDIPLOMACY.EU THE CASPIAN PROJECT

Cooperation via necessity one can call it. It isnot only individuals, but states, whose ra-tionality is allowed to operate within the pa-rameters of the market. Whether this was inactuality the plan then or in a post-hoc fash-ion the plan all along, Russia appears to haveshored up for the zero-sum game. TheCaspian is now caught between the forces ofthe free market and Russia’s privileged area ofinfluence.This should appear ironic to many: free trade,open markets, and cooperation are intendedto be self-actualizing, while increased de-pendence creates conditions for peace andstability. I am not optimistic enough to be-lieve that this negation on the ground will re-sult in its sublation. Rather, I contend that thetraditional cycle will continue, whetherthrough a rapprochement of temporary co-operation by market constraints or zero-sumcontestation.

It is also important to remember that liberalinstitutionalism is far from being cementedin the Caspian region, nor is its free marketeconomy a carbon copy of US export. It is atbest a work in progress and at worst a possi-ble perversion. In short, the peace-creatingtides of open markets have fallen short oftheir ambitions. So too have many of thegeostrategic aims of the US, Russia, and theCaspian as a whole.For the US, the Caspian as a region and anenergy market represented an opportunityto bring new nations and historic foes intothe fold of the international order. The prob-lem was that this succeeded as an effectrather than an affect, ie, the landscapechanged but the conditions did not. Russia’sstrategic errors were more clear but arguablyless structurally problematic. The Caspianquickly moved from Soviet, to former Soviet,to a piece of Russia’s privileged area of influ-ence. Russia’s use of force and subversion, inthe name of maintaining control over theCaspian, yielded a net negative result. Whatis important here is whether it was Russia’smethods or capacity to project power thatfailed. The 90s saw a significant decrease inRussia’s capacity for power projection. Todayits methodology has remained but its capac-ity has arguably increased.The other Caspian nations, specifically Kaza-khstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan ratherconversely, continue to sit on the sidelineswhile their fate is decided. I say converselybecause it would be rash to evaluate theseCaspian nations with the same rubric andpresuppositions as great powers.

CASPIAN REgIONHAS SEEN NO

PARADIgM SHIfTIN WHAT COULD bE CALLED

A PATRON-CLIENTRELATIONSHIP -

ONLY A CHANgE IN THE ROLEOf THE PATRON:

THE gLObAL MARkETREPLACED

RUSSIAN HEgEMONY

Their sovereignty of the past two decades, ifviewed from a purely geostrategic lens, is a‘pyrrhic sovereignty.’ Ultimately, the Caspianregion has seen no paradigm shift in whatcould be called a patron-client relationship -only a change in the role of the patron: theglobal market replaced Russian hegemony.

In 1998, Richard Matzke, then President ofChevron Overseas Petroleum, gave a speechthat resonates clearly today. “The Caspian oilindustry was once just a question mark onthe post-Communist landscape. But today,the industry is becoming a regional force. Ithas developed momentum - and markets -of its own…

Low prices sent the emerging Caspian oil in-dustry a powerful message that it needed tohear: Isolation on the world map can notprovide insulation from world oil markettrends… or global investment require-ments.” (bold and italics are mine). It is clearthat the Caspian is not isolated from theglobal market. Nor is it isolated from the geo-strategic interests of great and regional pow-ers. What is unclear is what will rise fromrenewed regional contestation - a new op-portunity for cooperation or a zero-sumgame that may have similar players occupy-ing new roles or revised roles but still mayseem depressingly familiar to geopoliticalanalysts around the globe.

WWW.MODERNDIPLOMACY.EU THE CASPIAN PROJECT

Source: Macrotrends.net; Energy Information Administration, BLS

Almaty has a very long tradition in wintersports, beginning in the 1950’s during theSoviet Union when the city was the centerfor outdoor winter sports activities. Afterbecoming an independent country twodecades ago, Almaty began improving itsstatus as the number one winter sport cen-ter in Eurasia.Almaty has continuously flourished into atrue winter sports city and one of the toptourist destinations in all of Eurasia. Thegrowth of winter sports in Almaty is directlytied to the city and region’s long-term goalsand is a key element in the planning for the2022 Olympic and Paralympic WinterGames.

A new winter games model focused onthe AthletesAlmaty 2022’s Games Concept is one of themost compact in over 30 years. All venuesare located within a 30-kilometer radius ofthe Olympic Village - an unprecedentedconvenience for the movement’s most im-portant stakeholders, the athletes, as wellas for the Olympic Family and spectators.

Real winter Sports Venues forReal winter SportsSeventy percent of the venuesnecessary for the Games al-ready exist and are currentlyfully utilized for winter sports.Since 2000, Almaty has addedsix top-tier venues to its alreadyexisting collection of world-class ski resorts and other com-petition venues. By 2017, 80%of the venues necessary willexist due to Almaty hosting the2017 Winter Universiade.According to Minister of Cultureand Sport of the Republic ofKazakhstan, Mr ArystanbekMukhamediuly:«Almaty’s bidfor the Winter Games is drivenby our people’s passion for win-ter sports and is well alignedwith our long-term sports infra-structure plan. Almaty will onlyneed two additional competi-tion venues for the Games. Ris-ing demand from the city andregion makes the addition ofthese venues a natural continu-ation of our strategic plan. Host-ing the Winter Games willfurther the development ofwinter sports in Kazakhstan andthe Central Asian region».

AlMATy 2022 wAnTS To chAnge the way Olympic WinterGames are planned for and hosted by ensuring a true and lastingOlympic Legacy for the city and region, and that inspires morecities to bid for the Games in the future.

KeePinG it reAl

MD STAFF

WWW.moderndiPlomACy.eu the CAsPiAn ProJeCt

AlmAty 2022 Promises the most resPonsible, Convenient And sustAinAble Winter GAmes ConCePt in over thirty yeArs

Real winter Sports hosting experienceAlmaty’s venues have hosted numerousmajor winter sport events including the 2011Asian Winter Games, the 2015 FIS JuniorNordic World Championships Under 23, the2014 World University Speed Skating Cham-pionship, the 2015 ISU World Sprint SpeedSkating Championships, the 2012 & 2013 FISNordic Combined World Cups, the 2010through 2014 FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix,and the 2010 through 2012 FIS Ski JumpingContinental Cups. Through the successful delivery of these in-ternational competitions, Almaty has provenitself as a trustworthy and competent host.From its 2011 Asian Winter Games experi-ence, to the upcoming 2017 Winter Universi-ade, the largest global winter sportscompetition after the Olympic WinterGames, Almaty will benefit from a wealth offriendly and experienced event professionalsand volunteers, as well as in-depth technicaland sports expertise, heightened by thehigh-level events hosted and planned to takeplace.

Real Sustainability Means an eco-Friendlywinter gamesAlmaty 2022 is also one of the greenest andmost sustainable plans in over 30 years dueto its numerous existing venues and minimalconstruction needs. Only two additional ven-ues need to be built - the Sliding Center andthe Almaty Olympic Arena. No sensitivemountain ecosystems will be affected bytheir construction and no large-scale trans-portation projects are required to reach themountain venues from the city.

winter games Deserve Real winterweatherAlmaty’s winter climate will provide the idealcompetitive conditions for both the WinterOlympic and Paralympic Games. Almaty hasplenty of snow and plenty of water. The city’smountain venues average between 120-150cm of fresh, natural snow coverage duringthe proposed Olympic and Paralympic Win-ter Games periods, and the annual accumu-lated snowfall adds up to 8 meters. Anyman-made snow requirements will be easilymet using Almaty’s numerous mountainlakes and rivers with no impact to the exist-ing water needs of the region.Vice-Chairman of Almaty 2022 Bid, Mr An-drey Kryukov said: «Our sensible, affordableand sustainable Games Plan is based on realvenues, real winter sports hosting experi-ence and real snow and winter ambience. Al-maty can prove that a nation doesn’t need tobe a superpower or spend tens of billions ofdollars to host a Winter Games.Consistentwith the goals of IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020reforms, Almaty 2022’s planning for the Win-ter Games utilizes our existing resources andis directly linked to our city’s long-term goals.Rather than changing our city to fit theGames, we adapted the Games plan to fit ourcity’s needs. This is real change of the WinterGames and exactly what we mean by ‘Keep-ing it Real».

A cozy and Friendly winter gamesAdditionally, Kazakhstan is one of the mostopen and diverse countries in the world withover 100 ethnicities and 40 religious denom-inations all living peacefully within its bor-ders. Forty percent of Almaty’s population isunder the age of twenty-four, and the city of-fers a variety of dining and entertainmentoptions to visitors of all ages and ethnicities.Finally, Almaty 2022’s budget is prudent, andall Games guarantees are fully backed by theGovernment of the Republic of Kazakhstan.Almaty’s OCOG budget is 1.7 billion US dol-lars and its Non-OCOG budget is only 4.5 bil-lion; this reflects moderate, sensiblespending. Moreover, Kazakhstan’s economyis sound. The Kazakhstan National Fund - cre-ated as a stabilization fund in 2000 - has a

current balance of 75 billion dollars, and itcontinues to grow. That is “cash in the bank”for the Games. Mayor of Almaty city, MrAkhmetzhan Yessimov said: «Almaty is a vi-brant and cosmopolitan city full of youngand passionate winter sport enthusiasts whopassionately want to bring the Games to ourcity. Almaty 2022 is fully supported by ourGovernment and we have the financialstrength necessary to deliver a great Gamesexperience for the athletes and participants.To be ready for 2022, Almaty has been invest-ing in winter sports facilities and experiencefor over a decade, and on 31 July we hope toearn the opportunity to showcase to theworld the tremendous progress our countryhas made».

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The summer school, which is to be at-tended by the local and foreign studentswho completed the interdisciplinary course"Azerbaijani multiculturalism" during thespring semester of the current year, as wellas influential figures of science, will be heldfrom July 21 to August 1.The summer school has organized on theidea and the initiative of the service of theState Counselor on Multiculturalism, In-terethnic and Religious Affairs. It will also in-volve Azerbaijani and European scientistsin addition to the students from eight for-eign and seven local universities.Local and foreign scientist will deliver lec-tures to the students during the summerschool, which will involve totally 70 stu-dents of Belarusian State Linguistic Univer-sity, Charles University and MasarykUniversity of the Czech Republic, VilniusState University of Educational Sciencesand Vytautas Magnus University,

Tbilisi State University, the UralFederal University and the Insti-tute of Russian Language inRussia, University of Naples andUniversity of La Sapienza, SofiaUniversity St. KlimentOhridski,Ardahan University and SakaryaUniversity of Turkey, AzerbaijanDiplomatic Academy, BakuState University, AzerbaijanState Economic University,Azerbaijan Technical University,Lankaran State University,Nakhchivan State University,Ganja State University, BakuHigher Oil School.The participants of the summerschool will gather in Baku onJuly 21 and 22. The first twodays of the program include fa-miliarization with the capitalcity, the meeting of participantswith State Counselor on Multi-culturalism, Interethnic and Re-ligious Affairs, academicianKamal Abdullayev, and theleaderships of Baku Interna-tional Multiculturalism Centre,"Knowledge" Foundation andBaku Slavic University.

AzerbAijAn hoSTS the International Summer School entitled"Multiculturalism as lifestyle in Azerbaijan: Learn, Explore, Share".The project was jointly organized by Baku International Multicul-turalism Centre, "Knowledge" Foundation under the AzerbaijaniPresident and Baku Slavic University.

learn, exPlOre, sHare

MD STAFF

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MulticulturalisM as lifestyle in azerbaijan

Participants of the Summer School will leavefor education and recreation center inNabran on July 23. During the period untilAugust 30, the students will visit Guba, Gusarand Khachmaz and take part in various activ-ities in these regions.The events will also be attended by the rep-resentatives of local authorities, residentsand young people of the region. During thewalks organized in these regions, studentswill be able to see firsthand multiculturalspirit of Azerbaijan.High level experts from Germany, Israel, Rus-sia and Azerbaijan will give lectures and holddiscussions, which will be instrumental in en-hancing knowledge and experience of theparticipants.

The main target of the international summerschool is to give students an opportunity toadd practical experience to their theoreticalknowledge already gained from the course"Azerbaijani multiculturalism". Foreign stu-dents will complete their theoretical knowl-edge they gained during the semester withpractical observations.

During tHe WalksOrganizeD in

tHese regiOns,stuDents

Will be abletO see firstHanD

MulticulturalsPirit Of azerbaijan

The summer school has very rich program.The participants will enjoy a nice stay, haveexciting lectures, intellectual discussions andmeet new friends during this period.The students were divided into differentgroups. A dance competition, as well assports and intellectual competitions will beheld among these groups. The winners willreceive special prizes.The organizers will try their best so the for-eign students gain deeper and more objec-tive knowledge about Azerbaijan and areable to observe the role of multiculturalismin the life of Azerbaijanis.In order to acquaint students with the multi-cultural situation in Azerbaijan, they will beinformed about the Azerbaijani culture, art,history, as well as the historical traditions oftolerance and their roots, and historical real-ities of the day. In addition, all kinds of excur-sions will be conducted to the religiousinstitutions of various peoples.

After completion of the summer school,Baku International Multiculturalism Centrewill continue staying in touch with these stu-dents. Possibly, after the completion of theschool, they will start scientific researches onAzerbaijan, considering that the majority ofstudents specialize in international relations,history, ethnography, geography and so on,it will be very interesting for them to observethe multicultural environment in Azerbaijan,the country's national minorities, culture,lifestyle as well as the rights and freedomsprovided by the government.In their theses and dissertations, they mayprefer issues they have seen in Azerbaijan.The relations of these students with Azerbai-jan will become more active, their interest in-crease, the country will become home forthem and hopefully their interest to Azerbai-jan will turn to love to the country.

The 10 mosT impoRTanT Things you need To know on Caspian sea Region

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