The more one battles against change the worse becomes the adjustment needed later on. Better to go with the flow and even shape it, if possible. Give credit to China because it realized before Russia that it had to modify it's politics and economics. Now both Russia and China are reluctant partners within a world economy and internationalization spreading liberal values and morality that will transform their politics and societies forever.
Sure, vodka will continue to be drunk in huge amounts in Russia, but there will be a health cost and younger people will become aware of the excesses of their elders sooner and more certainly.
The real question is whether they can understand what being human really means and be able to carry forward into the next decade the most valuable values of their respective communities. There is a dynamic balance to be met between commercial and social interests that is hard to define and achieve.
An aging population in China suggests that old ways of thinking there could emerge as a huge drag on that country's ability to adapt. If over investment in projects leads to a more conservative approach, then China could miss its big opportunity. It's going green would be a wonderful way forward, but innovation requires greater not lessor freedoms for business. The big mistake would be a military in China assuming a stronger role as this could weaken the independence and forward thinking efforts of a nascent business community significantly.
Other countries could assume leadership positions as American, China, Japan, Europe and Russia make mistakes and wane. One can for see potential improvements in the relative positioning of Brazil, Canada, India and Turkey.
Woohs stream at http://woohs.blogspot.com taps into many streams of thought and action. Nearby yoga at http://nearyoga.blogspot.com taps into human body movement using yoga techniques and Kundalini meditation. The Wuh Lax site http://wuhlax.blogspot.com focuses on sources and research behind the Wuh Lax series of books. At Togwells Publishing we focus on people's notions of pilgrimage of body, mind, and soul, http://togwells.blogspot.com. Whatever your beliefs, there is no end to motion, just evolution and unrelenting change, seen or unseen. Energy is motion both in reality and calculation. Take time to rest even though all inside you is always moving. Your massive relative pause gives opportunity for other smaller streams to catch up. Take time to meditate so that you can see with your mind what lies within and beyond.
