Inside The Bear
When the Soviet Union collapsed 25 years ago, Russia looked set to become a free-market democracy. Arkady Ostrovsky explains why that did not happen, and how much of it is Mr Putin’s fault. Read Here – The Economist
Category: Russia
All The President’s Eunuchs
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been methodically purging his closest and longest-serving advisers. The latest – but surely not the last – victim is Sergei Ivanov, a former KGB operative (like Putin himself) and defense minister who has just been forced out as Kremlin chief of staff. Read Here -Project Syndicate
Has Summer Brought A New Optimism About The Russian Economy?
Markets have soared: the ruble is the best-performing emerging market currency this year, up over 20 percent since late January against the dollar, and equities have posted double-digit gains. Russian markets have benefited from a range of macroeconomic and technical factors—a moderate pickup in oil prices, a search for yield by investors punished by low […]
Meet The Stoligarchs, Putin’s Pals Who Control A Fifth Of The Russian Economy
President Vladimir Putin has set up a twin economic system in Russia. The apolitical part of the economy is subject to the laws of the free market. In parallel to this is the political part of the economy, where large state-owned structures control massive amounts of money flowing into and out of the budget, and is controlled […]
A-Listers Flock To Putin’s Private Davos
Two years ago, President Vladimir Putin decided to wait out Western attempts to isolate Russia economically and politically. This year’s St. Petersburg Economic Forum — an annual event informally known as Russia’s Davos — showed that his patience is gradually paying off, but business as usual still isn’t within reach. Read Here – Bloomberg
Economically Weakened, Russia Turns To Soft Power To Meddle In Europe
While the crisis in Ukraine is stuck, recent Russian outreach elsewhere in Europe, including Putin’s Greece trip, has been successful at starting a debate over the utility of sanctions. The public in many European countries remains critical of Moscow, but “business and political elites have increased their interest in cooperating with Russia.” Read Here – […]
There Is No Secret Russian Oil War
If oil prices were Moscow’s top foreign policy priority, the oil-price theory of Russian foreign policy would predict simultaneous efforts to destabilize the region, thereby creating new risks to oil production and putting upward pressure on prices. This is not happening. Read Here – The National Interest
Can Things Get Any Worse For Russia?
Sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the European Union to punish President Vladimir Putin for meddling in Ukraine remain a drag on growth. And oil’s decline to a 13-year low has been catastrophic for Russia, where almost 50 percent of government revenue comes from crude and natural gas. Read Here – Bloomberg
A Turn To Asia: The History Of The Political Idea
Russia has already made its turn towards Asia, and the important question now is how deep and successful it will be. It is also critical what forms and substance it will assume, what costs and benefits it will bring, and whether it will be accompanied, in the best tradition of Russian political maximalism, by an […]
Russia’s Medvedev Says “We Are Rapidly Rolling Into A Period Of A New Cold War”
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said his country is in a new Cold War with the U.S. and its allies, underscoring the tenuous level of trust that’s putting a day-old plan for a truce in Syria at risk. Read Here – Bloomberg Medvedev’s Speech in Munich
looking beyond borders 