Moscow Continues to Use Outdated Infrastructure Plans Drawn Up More than Half a Century Ago, Baliyev Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Feb. 1 – That the Russian government continues to depend on the achievements of the Soviet Union in various sectors is widely recognized. That it continues to rely on plans the Soviets made but never released is much less so, although with the passing of time, that dependence may place even more limits on what Moscow can do now, Aleksey Baliyev says.

            In an essay on the Military-Political Analytics portal about railway development plans in the southern portions of the Russian Federation continue to be based on Soviet plans from as long ago as the early 1950s without changing them to reflect changes in the situation there (vpoanalytics.com/point-of-view/mezhregionalnye-infrastrukturnye-izyany-mnozhatsya-i-chrevaty/).

            A large fraction of railway development projects included in the Russian Federation’s current development plan for the rest of this decade are little more than copies of projects that were finalized by the early to mid-1950s and not modified in any significant way despite all the changes in the world since then, Baliyev continues..

            This situation, the analyst says, “shows that a comprehensive approach, one which takes into account both existing trends and anticipated developments does not yet prevail in the planning of transport infrastructure development in the Russian Federation” despite all the talk about modernization.

            This pattern is “detrimental to the economy and social sphere of the regions lying along these routes, to economic relations with neighboring countries, and to the ensuring of the country’s security” given the possibility of military actions. Existing plans from the past need to be changed given the demands of the present and the future.