To have a clear vision about the geopolitical reality of the Russian Federation it would be necessary to establish the capital of Russia in the Urals region. Ekaterinburg would be a good place as it is at the same time in Asia (Siberia) and next to the Central Federal Distric which represents a third of the Russian economy. And also not far away from the Caucasus, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. But from Ekaterinburg, Astana (capital of Kazakhstan) and even Xingjiang (China) are also close. So that would give the Russian Government a clear picture about the Russian reality.

Just remember that New York is not the capital of the U.S. and Sao Paulo is not the capital of Brazil. Anyway, they continue thriving as the industrial and financial capitals of their countries. So Moscow will continue keeping its importance in the Russian Federation as the main industrial, financial and demographic center once the capital is established in a more Eastern city like Ekaterinburg.

Enrique, You are right about moving the Russian capital city to the East -- it will give Russian politics more sense of the reality and boost the economic development of the Russian East. I think, the problem with such move, though (and this, I believe, what scares many politicians with power and regular Russians) -- it would formally move Russia away from Europe. Which, I personally, consider as a good thing. Russia will never be accepted as a "normal" member of the European Club. And it shouldn't be, because such union would not be natural -- it is more like a Bear is accepted as a member of the Wolf Pack. Russian way -- its own way. Not European, nor Asian. Just a third way. More like the United States -- standing alone... I absolutely pleased with the Medvedev's turn to Asia. Russia and the Asian countries have a lot of complementary businesses, which would benefit both sides. Plus, politically China, Vietnam, and Russia may be closer than, say, Russia and Europe, due to their experience with the "Communism" -- so, the ideology would not interfere with the business. Also, while everybody knows about latest achievements of China, not so many people aware that Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. And it has big potentials moving forward. In several decades, six Asian economies -- Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India -- may change the center of mass in the world business. It will be no longer Europe or the US. It will be Asia. And Russia will be "conveniently" nearby. If it starts working on such alliance in advance, of course.

Bogdanov, At first I thought about Krasnoyarsk or Novosibirstk as they are placed in the geographical middle of the Russian Federation...but both are too far away from the demographic center of Russia which is placed much closer to Moscow. So, taking into account both the demographic and geographic realities of Russia, Ekaterinburg (for example) would be a good place as capital of the Russian Federation being at the same time in Asia but very close to Europe. When Peter the Great established the new capital of Russia in St. Petersburg, his intention was to open a port for Russia in the sparcely populated lands of Northern Russia. Kazkhstan, with the new capiital Astana has tried to integrate the heavily "russified" Northern Kazakhstan with the rest of the country being also a showcase for the rest of the World. A new Eastern capital for the Russian Federation would be the main demonstration that something has changed, that a new nation is emergin aware about its place in the World. It is not necessary to spend as much as Kaazakhstan has done in Astana because a city like Ekaterinburg already enjoys a great part of the necessary infraestructure, and the Sverdlovsk oblast is already well populated with almost 5 million people. But once the bureaucrats of the Russian Government live in the city for years and discover it is as easy reaching China (Xingjiang) as Europe (Finland), that will create a change of mentality. Astana will be the closest foreign capital. At the same time Ekaterinburg is close to the Central Federal District, St. Petersburg, the Caucasus and Novosibirsk.

I also think Moscow is not suitable as the Russian capital. And moving it would also alleviate the traffic issues experienced in Moscow. I also wonder if Putin ever thinks of moving the capital closer to Siberia...