In 1986, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced his special plans to accomplish in Siberia what every past Soviet leader and czar has tried to do.
Signaling Moscow's new "special" plans for Siberia, Gorbachev cited the critical importance of developing Siberia for the economic growth of the USSR. Although most of the plan remains a state secret, Gorbachev, in his now famous Vladivostok speech, declared that Siberia would become export-oriented and open to foreign investment and joint enterprises.
In the same Siberian breath, Gorbachev also announced Soviet intentions to assume a bigger political and security role in the Far East. While less has been discussed internationally about this particular part of the Vladivostok speech, it is here that the Soviets have actually accomplished more. To assess the strategic, political, and economic implications of Siberian development, THE WORLD & I asked prominent scholars, to, in essence, rediscover Siberia under Gorbachev.
Writing on how the Soviets view Siberia, Terry McNeil of the University of Hull explains that "the Soviet Far East is the glaring blank spot on the golden Pacific arc." It possesses resources that, if developed, could provide the basis for innumerable industries. Preventing that, says Japanese scholar Shiro Shimamura, are a host of Soviet economic and political problems, ranging from a severe labor shortage to outmoded technology, as well as central planning obstacles.
But if the Soviets have had a rough time fulfilling their Siberian development plans, they have made major inroads
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