The Institute of Contemporary Development conducted a press briefing to present the results of its work from March-July 2008.

In opening the briefing, Igor Yurgens, the Chairman of the Board of the Institute, said that at the beginning of the year, INSOR was given the task of elaborating recommendations on the following eight developmental trends: the reform of the pension system; the reform of the health care system; an innovative model of Russian economics; the further improvement of the Russian legal system; the formation and growth of the Russian middle class; the reform of local government; the struggle against corruption; and the development of democracy in Russia.

According to Yurgens, the Institute has managed to attract a unique group of experts. “The recommendations that we developed during active discussions among our experts are, in their essence, reformative,” he stated. “Hopefully, the proposals that the Institute forwarded to the president’s administration and the Russian government will not only stimulate further discussion but will also result in subsequent measures to resolve the most pressing problems.”

Speaking on the topic of the development and growth of the middle class, one of the Institute’s top priorities for the current and coming years, Yevgeny Gontmacher, INSOR’s Director for Socio-Economic Problems of Development, explained that the Institute’s experts regard the middle class not as a target but rather as an indicator of societal development. One of the goals of modernization is the creation of a society in which the middle class composes over 50% of the population. The Institute is to work out and submit the “National Plan for the Development of the Middle Class” to President Medvedev this year.

Speaking about the pension system, Igor Yurgens pointed out that the version proposed by the Institute is reasonably radical. Yevgeny Gontmacher said that the Institute’s objective is to put forth not a tax reform but rather a feasible program for reforming the pension system based on reducing its burden on the federal budget. The Institute believes that current pensions are to be paid from the national budget but that a subsequent transition to the savings system is also necessary.

Commenting on the fight against corruption and the dynamics in this sphere, Boris Makarenko, INSOR’s Director for Socio-Political Developmental Problems said that “it would be unrealistic to amend the legislation before the end of 2008, but we can develop a ‘plan for legislative work’ regarding the fight against corruption fighting.” According to Makarenko, special attention should be paid to optimizing the state administration and also to educating and training future civil servants in institutes of higher education.

Within the framework of elaborating an innovation model of Russian economic development the Institute prepared an analytical report titled “Development of the Innovative Sector of Economy.” According to Igor Yurgens, the Institute has had a positive experience in this area, which includes the foresight method in information-communication technologies approved by the government. These technologies have a good chance of being competitive in the global market but not without state intervention.