Orthodox Economic Area

The objectives of the subject “Orthodox Economic Area” are the following:

1. To identify the characteristics of the Orthodox Economic Area
2. To analyse the role of Russia as the Central State of the Orthodox Civilisation
3. To analyse the influence of Orthodoxy on the Orthodox Economic Area
4. To know the economic profile of the Orthodox Countries
5. To analyse the profile of Orthodox Businesspeople
6. To understand the economic integration process of the Orthodox Civilisation
7. To explore the economic relations of the Orthodox Civilisation with the other civilisations (Western, Sinic, Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, African)
8. To analyse the main economic organisations related to Orthodox Economic Area

Related Subjects to the “Orthodox Economic Area”

1- Introduction to Orthodoxy and the Orthodox Civilisation.

1. Orthodoxy (Christianity)
2. Foundations of Orthodoxy
3. The Orthodox Christian Church. Patriarch of Constantinople
4. The Russian Orthodox Church
5. Hierarchy in the Orthodox society
6. Influence of Orthodoxy ethics on business
7. The case of Leo Tolstoy

2- Russia and the Orthodox Civilisation.

1. Russia as the Central State of the Orthodox Civilisation
2. Influence of Russia in the Central Eurasian region
3. Introduction to the Russian Federation
4. Russian Economy
5. Russian Ports
6. Foreign Direct Investment in Russia
7. Russian payment system
8. Russian companies
9. Russian Businesspeople
   1. Vladimir Potanin
   2. Elena Baturina
   3. Alexander Lebedev

3- Orthodox Economic Area. Economic Profile of the Orthodox Countries.

1. Introduction to the Economic Area of the Orthodox Civilisation
2. Countries with Orthodox majorities: Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria (*), Cyprus (*), Georgia, Greece (*), Moldova, Montenegro, Macedonia, Romania (*), Serbia, and Ukraine
3. Economic Profile of the Orthodox Countries

Notes:

1. (*) The Orthodox nations with Orthodox majorities of the European Union (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, and Romania) are not discussed in this subject, but they are included, from the economic integration, in the study of the European Economic Area of the Western Civilisation because of its membership to the EU
2. Orthodoxy is an important religion in Kazakhstan, Latvia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (30% Orthodox), Albania, Kyrgyzstan, and Estonia, but these countries are not included in this subject
3. The countries of the Coptic area of the Orthodox Civilisation such Egypt (African/Islamic Civilisation) and Ethiopia (African Civilisation) are not included

4- Economic Integration of the Orthodox Civilisation.

There are eighteen Free Trade Agreements (FTA) between the countries of the Orthodox Civilisation considered in this analysis.

1. Armenia has Free Trade Agreements with Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine
2. Belarus has Free Trade Agreements with Armenia, Russia, and Ukraine
3. Georgia has Free Trade Agreements with Armenia, Russia, and Ukraine
4. Moldova has Free Trade Agreements with Armenia, Russia, and Ukraine
5. Montenegro has a Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine
6. Macedonia has a Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine
7. Russia has Free Trade Agreements with Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine
8. Serbia has Free Trade Agreements with Russia, Ukraine
9. Ukraine has Free Trade Agreements with Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, and Serbia

Economic Corridors

1. China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor
2. International North-South Transport Corridor (India-Russia)
3. Eurasian Land Transport Initiative (Silk Road)
4. Almaty-Bishkek Economic Corridor
5. China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor
6. Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA)
7. Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Transport Corridor (Lapis Lazuli)
8. Trans-Caspian Trade and Transit Corridor (Central Corridor)
9. International Transport and Transit Corridor of the Ashgabat Agreement
10. Trans-Siberian Railway (Russia, Mongolia, China, North Korea)
11. Pan-European Corridor IX (Finland-Russia-Greece)
12. Pan-European Corridor II (Russia-Belarus-Poland-Germany)

5- Interactions of the Orthodox Civilisation with the other civilisations.

1. With the Islamic Civilisation:
   1. Albania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, and Serbia are members of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) with Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina
   2. Russia and Belarus are members of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) (with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan; Armenia, Moldova, and Ukraine are observers of the EurAsEC)
   3. Armenia, Belarus, and Russia belong to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) (with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan)
   4. Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia, and Moldova belongs to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan)
   5. Armenia has Free Trade Agreements with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan
   6. Russia has a Free Trade Agreement with Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan
   7. Georgia has a Free Trade Agreement with Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
   8. Free Trade Agreement between Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova
   9. Free Trade Agreement between Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan
   10. Moldova has a Free Trade Agreement with Kyrgyzstan
   11. Montenegro has a Free Trade Agreement with Turkey
   12. Ukraine has free trade agreements (FTA) with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
   13. Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine are part of the Regional Organisation for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM) (with Azerbaijan)
2. With the Western-Christian Civilisation
   1. With the European economic area (non-Orthodox):
      1. European Union (EU)
         1. European Union-Russia
         2. Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine belongs to the Black Sea Synergy
         3. Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine, and Georgia has a Free Trade Agreement with the EU
         4. Armenia and Georgia are part of the European Union-South Caucasus (with Azerbaijan) and are beneficiaries of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) of the EU
         5. Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia are part of the relations European Union-Western Balkans
         6. Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine are included in the European Neighbourhood Policy
      2. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) has free trade agreements (FTA) with Georgia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine
   2. With the American Economic Area
      1. North American Economic Area: no agreements in force
      2. Latin American Economic Area. Relationships between the Andean Community and Russia. There is not a free trade agreement between the two regions
      3. The Caribbean. No Orthodox country has Free Trade Agreements with the Caribbean Countries
   3. With the Oceania Economic Area : Russia has a Free Trade Agreement with New Zealand
3. With the African Civilisation: Africa-BRICS Countries (Russia is a BRICS Country)
4. with the Hindu Civilisation: no agreements in force
5. With the Buddhist Civilisation. Russia has a Customs Union with Vietnam
6. Inter-civilisation Agreements
   1. Russia is a member of:
      1. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
      2. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) (with Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan)
      3. Council of the Baltic Sea States (Belarus and Ukraine are observers)
      4. ASEAN-Russia Business Forum
   2. Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine are members of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) (with Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Turkey; Belarus has status of Observer)
   3. Belarus, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine belongs to the Central European Initiative (CEI)
   4. Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine belongs to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

* This subject only explores major Trade Agreements related to the Orthodox Civilisation.

6- Economic Organisations related to the Orthodox Civilisation.

1. Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)
2. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
3. Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS)
4. European Investment Bank
5. Armenia is a member of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
6. Armenia, Georgia, and Russia are members of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
7. Moldova, Montenegro and Serbia belong to the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)
8. Montenegro and Serbia are members of the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative
9. United Nations (UN)
10. International Monetary Fund (IMF)
11. Organisation for Cooperation between Railways (OSJD)
12. World Trade Organisation (WTO)

Description: Orthodox Economic Area.

Between 200 and 300 million people in the World is Orthodox, the second Christian family after Catholicism and before Protestantism.

Russia is undoubtedly the Central State of the Orthodox Civilisation; Russia is also a BRICS country (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Since 1741 to 1917, the Russian colonial empire it stretched from the Baltic Sea to Alaska, from Poland to part of Turkey controlling the majority of the Orthodox Civilisation and Central Asia. Russia, as head of the Orthodox Civilisation, dominated vast areas of the Western and the Islamic Civilisation and even a Buddhist country like Mongolia.

After the revolution of 1917, it was created in 1922 the Soviet Union formed by Russia, the Soviet Federal Socialist Republic of Transcaucasia, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, later the Republics of Central Asia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan were added. After completion of the Second World War, the USSR also would control Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, the Balkans, and the Baltic Republics leading to the beginning of the Cold War.

The collapse of the USSR in 1991 would lead to the independence of these countries. Since then, Russia tries to maintain the leadership in the region. However, in the recent years, Russia has had military clashes with Georgia or Ukraine. In addition, we must take into account the “great game of the petrol and gas” that develops in the Central Eurasian region.

Nowadays not a large economic integration project integrates all the countries of the Orthodox Civilisation although several Free Trade Agreements between these countries have been established. Perhaps in the next decades, we will observe the emergence of a massive integration project of the Orthodox Economies.

Russia and the Orthodox Countries are focusing their international economic relations mainly on two areas:

1. Europe, in particular with the European Union
2. The Central Asian Republics

Surely, the Orthodox Civilisation is one of the civilisations less integrated with the other civilisations.

Situation of the Orthodox Civilisation.

(c) EENI Global Business School (1995-2021)
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