The global economy is experiencing the most serious test of its strength since the end of World War II. It is obvious that the old system is now gone. The bets have been placed: Russia is trying to lead the bloc of developing economies, and the goal of the U.S. is to subjugate Europe economically and politically. It is over this issue that the main struggle has now unfolded.

Russia’s and China’s gas agreement has already been called “the top three-decade deal.” Its scale is quite impressive – in the next six years, the Chinese will be investing $55 billion in Russia’s mining and gas transportation system. But much more important than the numbers is the fact that the agreement formalizes that the two superpowers have common interests, at least for the foreseeable future. We are witnessing the emergence of new global political-economic blocs.

Politics in the APR occupies an increasingly important place in U.S. foreign policy, with particular emphasis currently on the new bloc which plans to create free-trade zones across the entire region. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is without a doubt one of the Obama administration’s main priorities and offers an alternative to the Chinese project, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is also in the negotiations stage.

The new book “Russia and the World on the Way to Sustainable Economic Growth” was released recently by the World Organization of Creditors. This work was prepared on the basis of WOC analytical studies, published in the World Economic Journal in 2013-2014 years.
While reading this book, it becomes obvious that the current economic crisis is threatening mankind with a real catastrophe. And the financial issues are just the tip of the iceberg. So there can be no simple or quick solution to the crisis. If they want to avoid a social disaster, leading countries need to push to recover industrial production, to ensure that businesses and capital return home, to create new jobs, and to provide tax breaks for investors. And the task of servicing financial institutions is to provide investment, and to create opportunities for investors to obtain a real income.

We wrote about the economically unequal position of women and the gender wage gap in the February issue, stating that this is a topical issue for all countries, both developed and developing. The issue of equal gender participation in the political decision-making process is even more acute. Historically, women have always been outsiders in the political arena, and until the 20th century they did not have the legal right to vote. Women began to gradually make inroads into politics once they won suffrage rights. At least three women always appear in rankings of outstanding political figures from the 20th century: Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, and Benazir Bhutto. But in the perception of many, female heads of state are still the exception to the rule.

To this day, the Arctic remains the most pristine, untouched piece of the Earth where there are a vast number of natural resources, oil and gas among them. Those claiming a piece of the “Arctic pie” have already accumulated quite a large portion and don’t just include bordering countries, but even such powers as India and China. As their economies grow, so do their energy needs, and Beijing and New Delhi are searching for a way to the heart of the Arctic.
In May 2013, the two largest Asian powers, India and China, gained observer status in the Arctic Council (AC). Officially, the AC is an international organization dedicated to monitoring and protection of the polar zone. There are 8 full members of the AC: Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Canada, the U.S., Sweden, and Russia. Unofficially, the AC is a format for international dialogue about the future status of the Arctic, a region rich in natural resources, particularly oil and gas.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 13% of the world’s unexplored oil reserved are concentrated in the Arctic North, or about 160 billion barrels. For comparison’s sake, the most optimistic reserves estimate for oil-rich Saudi Arabia is 44 billion barrels and for Russia is 25 billion. The Arctic also has up to 30% of the world’s natural gas reserves.