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#1 - JRL 2006-274 - JRL Home
Russia Ranks 7th In World Influence, Lags In Democracy - Report

MOSCOW. Dec 7 (Interfax) - Russia is among the world's top ten in international influence but comes 93rd in democratic development, according to report prepared by Russian researchers.

On Monday, a group of scientists from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) presented its project titled "The Geopolitical Atlas of Contemporary World", the aim of which is to make a complex analysis of the political systems of 190 states and create a multi-dimensional classification of such systems.

The project singles out 5 basic indexes for each country, which are subdivided into numerous sociological, economic, political and other indicators - indexes of statehood, external and internal threats, potential for international influence, democratic institutions, and others. As for democratic development, Russia is 93rd after such countries as Ukraine, India, Indonesia and Argentina.

In terms of living standards, Russia ranks 73rd, outpaced by Saudi Arabia, Hungary and Argentina.

At the same time, it maintains a high influence rating, coming 7th after the United States, Germany, China and Japan.

"The fact that such non-politicized methodology has made its way to Russia is a good sign. It means that we can equally participate in the dialogue of political ratings, which, regrettably, were often biased and unfounded in recent years," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yakovenko said in his speech at the ceremony.

Presenting the project, MGIMO's pro-rector for scientific work Andrei Melvil noted that at there existed many ratings positioning countries according to various indicators.

Similar research is conducted by such organizations as Transparency International or Reporters Without Borders, yet, their reports are often one-sided and based on specific indicators, as for example corruption, freedom of the press, or the quality of management, while a multitude of indicators used by the authors of the Political Atlas of Contemporary World project provides for maximum objectivity and adequacy in the evaluation and comparison of the political systems of various countries, Melvil said.