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Key points:  
1. Russia considers the NSR a strategic economic priority since it is instrumental for suppling Russian northern territories. Its importance has grown in the past few years with the expansion of Russia’s oil and gas projects in the Arctic. The NSR allows to monetize vast oil and gas resources located near the coastline and transport them economically to target markets. 
2. The realistic possibilities for the NSR to develop into a major trade artery to Asia. The NSR is an Arctic shortcut that saves time and reduces transportation costs on a route between Europe and Asia. But it is necessary to take into account that navigation in Arctic seas is still difficult and it could cause significant risks for ships. Russia is trying to increase its Arctic capabilities by building a new generation of powerful nuclear icebreakers and Arctic class ice-resistant tankers. Initially, Russian exports of oil, condensate, and LNG are going to represent the lion’s share of the transportation turnover via the NSR. When year-round navigation via the NSR becomes a reality, international transit might increase as well.  
3. The NSR and its geopolitical implications.  In a world of increasing global rivalries, Russia’s control over a major trade route connecting Europe and Asia is an asset. Unlike other marine routes to Asia that could be controlled by the US Navy, the NSR emerges as an important factor in the Russia-China relationship.

On February 11, Head of the Department of International Relations A.V. Lukin held an online meeting with Ambassador of Norway R. Resaland.

On February 2, 2022 the School of International Regional Studies of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, HSE University, within the framework of the permanent online seminars “Contemporary Area Studies”, organised a meeting with the visiting lecturer of the School of International Regional Studies, Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, HSE University Dr. Ksenia Spitsyna.

Deputy Head of the CCEIS Asia-Pacific Sector A. S. Pyatachkova commented in Bloomberg on the state of Russian-Chinese relations on the eve of the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Key points:
- Cooperation between Moscow and Beijing is a strategic challenge for the Joe Biden administration;
-The aggravation of relations with the West encourages Russia to speed up cooperation with China, especially in the technological sphere, which is subject to sanctions pressure;
-Too much emphasis on economic relations with China could risk relegating Russia to the status of an energy and raw materials supplier to a much stronger partner;
-The imbalance of economic power could cause difficulties in bilateral relations if China refuses to perceive Russia as a partner with a special status and tries to put pressure on it.

On January 27, 2022, the School of International Regional Studies of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, HSE University, within the framework of the permanent online seminars “Contemporary Area Studies”, organised a meeting with Dr. Amur Gadzhiev, correspondent of the Turkish edition of the Sputnik news agency, lecturer at the Russian State University for the Humanities, candidate of historical sciences.  The topic of the meeting: “The main features of Turkey's foreign policy at the present stage.”

On Thursday, January 27, 2022, the HSE Bulgarian Club and the HSE Middle East Club together with the International Laboratory on World Order Studies and the New Regionalism and under the aegis of the Department of International Relations of the National Research University Higher School of Economics held a seminar in the format of a discussion on the topic “EU and the Arab World: Anxious Neighbors or Natural Partners?”

Daria Vanifatyeva about exchange programme in Finland

Egor Prokhin, a research fellow of the CCEIS, presented a report titled “The role of technological platforms in the innovative development of Industrial enterprises" on January 17, at the 13th international conference "E-Education, E-business, E-Management, E-Learning", held at Waseda University in Tokyo.

Within the report’s framework, the results of the analysis of the experience of the main trends in the innovative development of industry in the Asia-Pacific countries were presented, and the economic and managerial effectiveness of new development models was assessed. 

Miras Zhiyenbayev, CCEIS Fellow, wrote an article on aspects of Chinese pandemic diplomacy and competition between Russia and China for influence in Central Asia for the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs. Key ideas:
- The global pandemic has exacerbated the economic and political problems of the Central Asia states. The situation in Central Asia provides opportunities for both China and Russia to consolidate their influence over the foreign and domestic policies of Central Asian countries.
- The economic strength of China provides the opportunity for China to use investments of private Chinese firms to establish cooperation with Central Asian governments through international organizations such as the SCO.
- Another opportunity afforded to China is the shift towards internal aspects of the national security caused by the pandemic. Some Central Asian governments are interested in Chinese surveillance technologies. The CA countries will have to continue to buy from China, without the ability to control their own technologies and develop their own rules.
- While the prospects of the economic dependence of CA countries from China are becoming ever more real, the existing cultural tensions will be the source of social instability. Russia still exerts huge amount of “soft power”, which allows to Russian government to use media to denigrate China’s activities in the region.

On January 25, 2022 the School of International Regional Studies of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, HSE University within the framework of the permanent online seminars «Contemporary Area Studies», organized a meeting with Dmitry Streltsov, Professor, Ph.D. of Historical Sciences, Head of the Department of Oriental Studies of the Faculty of International Affairs of MGIMO University, Chairman of the Interregional Public Organization "Association of Japanese Studies".