(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – September 25, 2013) Russia leapt 10 places in the latest “Economic Freedom of the World” report, released in September by Canada’s Fraser Institute, to 101st place largely thanks to its financial reforms. The US fell 13 spots, largely because of its financial mess. The Kremlin is regularly lambasted for […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 25, 2013) The World Bank cut its 2013 growth forecast for the Russian economy in a new report published Wednesday, asserting that domestic consumers had followed investors in “sitting on the fence” over the economy and warning that structural reforms would be necessary to stimulate new growth. Russia’s economy will expand by 1.8 percent […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 25, 2013) The growing capital outflow from Russia is putting pressure on the ruble, the Economic Development Ministry said in an economic forecast for 2014-2016 published on Tuesday. “The increase in private capital outflow in 2013 from $30 billion to $70 billion, according to the forecast, was an important factor in the depreciation of the ruble,” […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 24, 2013) EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti acknowledged Tuesday that Russia’s sputtering economy combined with deeply ingrained problems such as corruption and a weak court system were deterring both foreign and domestic investors. But he insisted that the opportunities continued to far outweigh the risks and said the Russian authorities were taking much-needed steps to […]
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(Interfax – September 24, 2013) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has approved a plan to create and develop mechanisms for public oversight over the activities of natural monopolies with input from consumers, along with the relevant road map, the government press service said. The goal of the document is to involve consumers in monitoring the development and implementation of monopolies’ investment […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 23, 2013) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev criticized the pace at which the road maps to increase business and investment activity in Russia are being implemented, as nearly half of their measures have not been carried out on time. “We can’t in any case be happy with the pace of implementation of these road maps. Of the […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 23, 2013) The 2014 budget that is being drafted by Russia’s government is the most austere in years, according to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. “It will be a difficult budget, the most difficult in recent years. It aims to ensure the stable development of Russia in a deteriorating global economic environment,” Medvedev said at a meeting […]
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(Interfax – September 23, 2013) Russian Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev has acknowledged that security and the armed forces are a priority for state spending and social needs will have to take their place in the queue, Interfax news agency reported on 23 September. “I hope that after we complete the reorganization and restructuring of the armed forces, on which we’re […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – September 24, 2013) The drama in Ukraine is startling to look like a Hollywood B movie storyline. Hero wearing tattered clothes, bloodied and battered, staggers towards the sanctuary of the waiting plane/car/spaceship as the pack of ravenous dogs/savages/aliens pursue him with glitter of revenge in their eyes. Except in […]
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(Kremlin.ru – Novgorod Region, September 19, 2013) Vladimir Putin took part in the final plenary meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club. The theme of the club’s anniversary session is Russia’s Diversity for the Modern World. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, friends, ladies and gentlemen, I hope that the place for your discussions, for our meetings is well […]
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(Interfax – VALDAI, Russia. September 19, 2013) Russia is worrying about the current state of the U.S. finance system with its “unbelievable sovereign debt and budget deficit,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “How will the situation develop? This has a direct effect on the global economy, it’s a real source of anxiety for everyone,” Putin said at a meeting of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – September 20, 2013) A study on economic factors that stimulate growth that was released Thursday puts Russia in 43rd place out of 60 countries, showing no overall improvement over last year’s ranking. The Grant Thornton Global Dynamism Index for 2013, which combined 2012 results with economic development forecasts for 2013, placed Australia […]
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(Interfax – VALDAI, September 19, 2013) Former Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has said that should another economic crisis break out in Russia, it might bring with it political consequences. “If a crisis occurs, it will trigger political repercussions,” Kudrin told reporters on the sidelines of the Valdai discussion club. The ex-minister, however, declined to forecast when a new crisis […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 19, 2013) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has reiterated that Ukraine cannot combine its associated membership in the European Union with integration in the Customs Union. During a meeting with the participants in the 15th General Assembly of the Organization of Asia- Pacific News Agencies (OANA), he said such statements by the Ukrainian administration on its […]
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(RIA Novosti – Karin Zeitvogel – WASHINGTON, September 18, 2013) Russia has climbed 10 places since 1995 in a global ranking of economic freedom, while the United States has fallen 13 spots over the same period, according to a report from a Canadian public policy think-tank released Wednesday. Russia ranked 101st out of 151 nations, up 10 places from […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – September 19, 2013) Russian consumers have more interest and demand for environmentally friendly packaging than their counterparts in some developed countries, but still are ranked at the bottom among 11 large consumer markets in terms of actual recycling activity, according to a study that global packaging giant Tetra Pak released this week. […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – September 18, 2013) As the Russian government continues to search for a national identity unifying Russians, a recent study shows a society atomized along ethnic and economic lines. With so little holding a people together, the findings, sociologists say, challenge a long-held assumption that Russia is an inherently collectivist society. “We are […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 18, 2013) Russia’s business ombudsman proposed on Tuesday that the country’s authorities should declare amnesty for illegal migrants to help both the foreign workers and their employers. Ombudsman Boris Titov, who helped put forward amnesty for Russians jailed on economic charges, wrote a column saying that business in the country needed a considerable inflow of […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW/KAZAN, September 17, 2013) Russia could cut budget expenditure by more than 1.2 trillion rubles in the next three years. Some of this as well as money saved by other means may be redistributed or used for other priorities. Cutting and maneuvering The Kommersant newspaper said the Russian Finance Ministry was proposing to slash budget spending by more […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 18, 2013) Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is growing too slowly to pull the country out of its worst economic situation since the 2008 global financial crisis, the country’s economic development minister said Wednesday, and the stagnation is unlikely to improve in 2014. Alexei Ulyukayev said during a “government hour” meeting in the State Duma […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 16, 2013) Capital outflow from Russia is not yet slowing but the ruble will not weaken to any great extent, even if oil prices fall, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach told Interfax. “The ruble will not weaken substantially even if oil prices fall markedly. The Central Bank (in that event) will lose more reserves,” Klepach […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – September 17, 2013) Moscow jobs pay 40 percent more compared to similar positions in regional centers, but wage growth has remained stagnant in the last five years across all regions in the country, according to findings from international consulting firm Hay Group. A five-year overview of Russia’s employment market demonstrated no growth […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Tatyana Lisina, special to RBTH – September 12, 2013) Cartels have appeared in nearly every sector of the Russian economy. The Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia has detected or suspects price-fixing agreements in sectors ranging from the fishing, alcohol and meat industries, to medical care, transportation and notary services. Over the last 15 […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 16, 2013) As fears about the Syrian conflict recede, equity fund flows have increased to most emerging markets, excluding Russia, Emerging Portfolio Fund Research, or EPFR, said in a report. According to EPFR, investors channeled $2.6 billion to emerging markets last week, a weekly maximum since February, but pulled $235 million out of Russia, […]
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(Interfax – BRUSSELS, September 13, 2013) Russia is not planning to put pressure on any state or drag it forcibly into any association because of its relations with the EU’s Eastern Partnership, Russian envoy to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov told Interfax on Friday. “Our partners, primarily European parliamentarians, are unfortunately deeply misled on this. It is not about Russia’s […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 12, 2013) Business ombudsman Boris Titov believes the issue of criminal prosecution of businessmen is blown out of proportion, although law enforcement agencies are frequently biased against businessmen. “Statements made in the press sometimes blow the issue out of proportion. Statistically, it’s not 300,000 people who have been prosecuted. A little more than 13,000 people, including […]
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(Kremlin.ru – Bishkek, September 13, 2013) PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member countries, heads of state of observer countries, high representatives and summit guests, The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has been working for more than a decade now and has achieved some big results. It has established its place as an influential international […]
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(Interfax – NOVO-OGARYOVO, September 11, 2013) Russia needs to have a growth budget in 2014-2016 despite the difficulties in the global economy, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on drafting the budget for the next three years. “We need to soberly assess the situation and bring revenue and spending into line with the economic growth forecast that is shaping […]
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(Interfax – NOVO-OGAREVO, September 11, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin said he saw elements of stabilization in the world economy and that he was not expecting a crisis. This is the first time the budget is being drafted by the programming principle, Putin said at a meeting on budget projections for the period 2014-2016. “The second specific aspect is that […]
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(Moscow Times – temhoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – September 12, 2013) President Vladimir Putin on Thursday appointed business lobbyist Alexander Galushka as Far East Development Minister, completing the staff changes meant to spur investment in a region sitting next to major Asian powerhouses. A co-chairman of business association Delovaya Rossia, Galushka will work in tandem with Deputy Prime Minister Yury […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Tatyana Lisina, special to RBTH – September 9, 2013) A mega regulator of the entire financial market began work in Russia on Sept. 1. According to experts, this will have a positive impact on the economy as a whole and increase Russia’s investment attractiveness. On Sept. 1, the Central Bank of the Russian […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Pavel Vasiliadi, Analyst at the UFS Investment Company, special to RBTH – September 10, 2013) Economist Pavel Vasiliadi describes how Russia has more options than most of its G20 peers in choosing to either save or spend its way out of the crisis. In the debate on international financial architecture, Russia, having picked […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova – September 10, 2013) The Russian economy might see a slight pickup by the end of this year driven by expanding investment and a possible easing of monetary policy by the Central Bank, according to the latest forecast by Morgan Stanley presented Monday. The GDP growth is likely to expand by 2.2 percent […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – September 10, 2013) In the face of persistently high inflation and capital outflows, the Russian government has decided to freeze energy tariffs, which will give the economy a short-term boost, but will also stymie the long-term development of the economy. Times are tough in Russia after economic growth dropped […]
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(Interfax – GORKI, September 9, 2013) A group of lawyers has arrived at the conclusion that the normative bases of the European Union and Customs Union are incompatible, and that if Ukraine joins the EU free trade zone it will not be able to take on Customs Union obligations, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has said. “The conclusion […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 9, 2013) Russia was subject to 74 trade restrictions imposed by 17 countries as of September 1. These included 40 anti-dumping duties, Deputy Economic Development Minister Alexei Likhachev told reporters. Likhachev said anti-dumping proceedings in the EU against Russian goods were particularly noteworthy as the EU disregards the price of gas in Russia and uses its […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 9, 2013) Presidential aide and former health minister Tatyana Golikova was nominated by President Vladimir Putin Monday to head Russia’s Audit Chamber, the Kremlin said. Golikova was selected by Putin from a pool of three candidates for the position put forward by a State Duma commission that also included Sergei Stepashin, the Chamber’s head […]
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(Kremlin.ru – St Petersburg, September 6, 2013) Vladimir Putin took part in the second working session of heads of delegations of G20 countries, invited countries, and international organisations. The summit participants discussed investment and job creation, among other issues. The discussion then continued in working breakfast format with the participation of invited heads of state and international organisations. * * […]
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(Kremlin.ru – St Petersburg, September 5, 2013) Among other things, the latest global economic trends and financial regulation issues were discussed during the first working meeting themed Growth and Financial Stability. The G20 summit’s work officially began with Vladimir Putin’s welcome speech as he addressed the invited heads of state and government. * * * Speech at working session of […]
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(Interfax – STRELNA, September 6, 2013) A comprehensive approach, including higher investment in the economy, is needed to tackle unemployment, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a working meeting during the G20 summit. “Employment policy cannot and must not be the concern only of the government bodies responsible for social policy. Clearly, real changes in the sphere of labor and […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – September 4, 2013) Faced with state interference and a too-heavy focus on military production, Russia’s aircraft manufacturing industry stands at a crossroads, when competitiveness can either be regained after its Soviet heyday or lost. This is the conclusion of a report by the analytical firm Strategy Partners Group, released ahead of last week’s MAKS airshow […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – September 6, 2013) While Syria lurked in the background of the G20 leaders’ summit, which opened on Thursday, official discussions had their focus firmly on economic issues. The conflict in Syria, however, did occasionally come to the foreground. President Vladimir Putin himself raised the topic at the end of his opening address, […]
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(RIA Novosti – ST. PETERSBURG, September 5, 2013) Russian and Chinese state corporations signed a string of economic agreements including another document paving the way for the long-awaited multi-billion dollar gas deal, after President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met Thursday at the G20 summit in the city of St. Petersburg. Russian gas giant Gazprom and the […]
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(Interfax – STRELNA, September 4, 2013) Former Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who currently chairs the Committee on Civil Initiatives, does not anticipate any serious changes to the ruble’s real exchange rate in the next three to four years. “I don’t expect any major changes in the fate of the ruble. If you look at the official forecast, many might […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Vladimir Goryachev and Oleg Sukhov – September 3, 2013) Mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny has voiced support for an economic amnesty and a windfall tax on some privatized assets at a high-profile meeting with businessmen and top executives, Vedomosti reported. The event was the first public meeting with entrepreneurs during Navalny’s campaign, with the previous ones […]
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Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 From: Vladimir Shlapentokh <shlapent@msu.edu> Subject: New book: Freedom, Repression, and Private Property in Russia. Hardcover,Cambridge University Press, 2013 Freedom, Repression, and Private Property in Russia Hardcover, Cambridge University Press, 2013 by Vladimir Shlapentokh (Author), Anna Arutunyan (Author) This study demonstrates how the emergence of private property and a market economy after the Soviet Union’s collapse […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW/MINSK, August 29, 2013) Russia hit back at two mainstays of the Belarusian economy this week after Minsk arrested the head of Russia’s largest fertilizer company, imposing cuts on oil exports and threatening food imports in moves that it insists have no connection to the arrest. Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft announced plans Wednesday to cut […]
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(Interfax – August 28, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin said important decisions are expected to be made in the sphere of investment stimulation at the G20 summit scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg. “A roadmap for the financing of long-term investment has been created. It will be implemented during the years of Australia’s chairmanship [of the G20]. The principles […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – August 28, 2013) The Kremlin’s drive to increase transparency and limit the amount of money held in offshore havens could be extended to companies, which will be forced to declare an overseas status. Duma deputy Dmitry Savelyev for the ruling United Russia Party, has submitted a bill, which would oblige the companies to inform […]
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(Kremlin.ru – August 28, 2013) [The official website of the Russian G20 presidency http://en.g20russia.ru/] PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: This year marks the G20’s 5th anniversary. At the peak of the crisis the G20 members agreed on coordinated measures to support the global economy. We made the commitment to curb trade protectionism, developed new principles of financial regulation, and defined […]
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