Category: Economy, Business, Investment, Trade
How Bad are Things in Russia Today? Some People There are Now Pawning Their Teeth
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, August 21, 2015) The worsening economic situation in Russia is highlighted by many things but none more compelling than the fact that it is forcing ever more people there to pawn whatever items of value they have – including their teeth — and then not to be in a position to reclaim […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK RBTH: “Why is Russia postponing the privatization of its oil companies?”
The Russian government has announced that it will postpone the privatization of state share packages in the Rosneft and Bashneft oil companies. Russian analysts believe that this is because the price being asked is not acceptable to buyers.
» Read moreStealing a Peek at Russian Economic Uptick Before It Happens
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Andrey Biryukov – August 11, 2016) Prone to false starts since a crisis peaked last year, Russia’s economy is riding momentum that has it on the cusp of exiting the longest recession in two decades. As business sentiment perks up, leading indicators from demand for electricity to rail cargoes and container transport show the pulse of […]
» Read moreExperts Predict ‘Lost Decade’ For Russia’s Stagnating Economy
A lack of dialogue on economic incentives could threaten future growth (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexandra Prokopenko, Margarita Papchenkova – August 19, 2016) #Russia’s #economy needs powerful external stimuli or fundamental domestic reform in order to avoid further stagnation, a report from the Centre of Development at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) has claimed. The country’s gross domestic […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Russian government finds itself under social spending pressure in election season” – bne Intellinews
The Russian government will discuss either indexing pensions by 8.6% on September 1 or making a one-time payment to pensioners …. Despite the ongoing efforts to consolidate the budget amid the unprecedented fiscal squeeze, the government might have to give in to increasing social spending as the two-year election season starts …. The Russian government needs to find RUB2 trillion ($31bn) from somewhere […]
» Read moreRussia’s New Poor Ashamed of Their Poverty and Try to Hide It, Sociologist Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, August 16, 2016) In Russia today, with the gap between rich and poor again widening, Olga Simonova says, “poverty is viewed not as an individual’s misfortune but as his fault.” As a result, while they complain to pollster, Russia’s new poor do not turn to the state even when it could help […]
» Read moreOn Russian studies [and Re: “Opportunities and Constraints of Authoritarian Modernisation: Russian Policy Reforms in the 2000s”]
Subject: On Russian studies Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2016 From: Brian D Taylor <bdtaylor@maxwell.syr.edu> Thanks again for all you do with JRL. It’s a very valuable resource. I would like to say, though, that “real Russian studies” are not particularly rare. If you ask social scientists who study Russia, they could point you to many detailed analyses of practically every […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Why Ukraine and Russia Need Each Other” – Nicolai Petro/Russian Politics
Ukraine needs …. the restoration of those economic ties with Russia that clearly benefit the Ukrainian economy, at least until Ukraine develops stable alternative markets. …. a stop gap measure needed to stop the hemorrhaging of resources, manpower, and capital, and to win Ukraine time and breathing space for economic reform …. Nor do I see it as a matter […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Russian Public Assessments of the Putin Policy Program: Achievements and Challenges” – John P. Willerton/Russian Politics
A decade and a half into the Putin team’s tenure, what are Russians’ policy concerns, and how do they accord with Putin team priorities and actions? What is the level of public support for Putin and his team, and how do Russians assess the Putin team’s policy record to date? * * * … survey results reveal that Putin and […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Turkey’s Erdogan Patches Up Relations With Putin” – Wall Street Journal
… Putin and … Erdogan mended fences in a high-profile meeting Tuesday, bolstering their governments’ ties as both face strained relations with the West. … Erdogan’s first trip abroad since the Turkish coup attempt … signals his willingness to look to Moscow, traditionally the counterweight to Western influence in the Middle East. But Western leaders say Turkey … crucial to […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK bne/Intellinews: “International tensions overtake inflation on Russia’s ‘fear index'”
NEWSLINK bne/Intellinews.com: “The hunt for a missing RUB2 trillion”
Vladimir Putin Is His Economy’s Worst Enemy
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – July 27, 2016 – Editorial) Russian President Vladimir Putin urgently needs to revive his country’s economy. His greatest obstacle will be himself. While Americans argue about the extent of Russia’s intervention in the U.S. presidential election, Putin is battling a recession at home. To that end, he has recently focused on the ruble’s exchange rate: A […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting of ASI Expert Council
(Kremlin.ru – July 21, 2016) Vladimir Putin took part in a meeting of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) Expert Council, which is marking its 5th anniversary. The President also visited an exhibition presenting projects that have received ASI support over various years, in particular, new developments in medicine, communications, transport, housing and utilities, agriculture, continued and vocational education, and […]
» Read moreGoldman Sees Russian Oil Output Topping Soviet Record by 2018
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Stephen Bierman – July 20, 2016) Russia’s oil output will exceed the former Soviet record set almost 30 years ago by the end of 2018 as low-cost fields allow producers to defy the slump in prices, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Production will climb by 590,000 barrels a day over the next three years to […]
» Read moreHybrid Business — The Risks In The Kremlin’s Weaponization Of The Economy
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Commentary: Mark Galeotti, Anna Arutunyan – July 20, 2016) Mark Galeotti is a senior research fellow at the Institute of International Relations Prague and director of the consultancy Mayak Intelligence. Anna Arutunyan is a Moscow-based journalist and writer, author of The Putin Mystique. “How many divisions does the pope have?” Josef Stalin was meant to have […]
» Read morePutin Debt Binge Indulged While Russia Looks Good Next to Europe
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Vladimir Kuznetsov, Natasha Doff – July 20, 2016) No one’s complaining about record debt in Russia next year as an influx of foreign investors helps the government borrow its way out of recession. The Finance Ministry plans to quadruple domestic debt issuance to $20 billion in 2017 to fund a growing budget shortfall and avoid depleting […]
» Read moreRussia’s Consumers Still in Shock as They Cut Back on Food and Medicine
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Olga Tanas – July 19, 2016) With stores from near the Arctic to the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, Magnit PJSC would be the first to know when the Russian consumer is back. Instead, the nation’s largest supermarket chain has just come across something it’s never seen. Billionaire Sergey Galitskiy’s retailer, which operates almost 13,000 outlets […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting with Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights Boris Titov
(Kremlin.ru – July 18, 2016) Boris Titov presented to the President the Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights annual report. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon Mr Titov. Have you prepared your report? Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights Boris Titov: Yes, Mr President. I am ready to present what will be my third report since my appointment as Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights. […]
» Read moreOil Must Go to $40 and Stay There to Buy Russia Some Reforms
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Anna Andrianova, Andre Tartar – July 18, 2016) [Charts here bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-17/oil-must-go-to-40-and-stay-there-to-buy-russia-reforms-at-last] At an oil price of $40 or below, Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced a flat income tax, built a sovereign wealth fund and delivered speeches to the Bundestag in German. When it was over $100, he fought two wars with neighbors and splashed over $40 […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “An Unfinished Bridge, and Partnership, Between Russia and China” – New York Times
The New York Times covers Russo-Chinese relations and delays in Russia fulfilling its part of a joint arrangement to build an international bridge across the Amur River. … The bridge abruptly stops, hanging in the air high above the river just short of the Russian shore at Nizhneleninskoye …. The gap … left by Russia’s failure to build its own, […]
» Read morePRESS RELEASE: Jamestown Launches ‘Russia in Decline’ Project
(Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – July 14, 2016) JAMESTOWN LAUNCHES ‘RUSSIA IN DECLINE’ PROJECT The Jamestown Foundation is proud to officially unveil a special project, Russia in Decline, which seeks to shed light on the possible futures facing the Russian Federation based on currently observable trends of a country trapped on a downward trajectory. This project is headed by longtime […]
» Read moreReluctantly, Russia Starts Sell-Off of Major State Companies
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Peter Hobso – July 14, 2016) Back in April, President Vladimir Putin was asked at a press conference why he planned to sell state companies just when the market was at bottom. Putin’s reply was blunt: “We need the money.” Russia was, after all, in a bind. A deep recession and plunging oil prices meant […]
» Read moreHelping Russia’s broken women to get back on their feet
Dozens of crisis centers operate in Russia to help women caught up in desperate situations and left without help from their families. Some of them have nowhere to live, while others are trying to get away from their alcoholic, wife-beating husbands. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – OLEG SKRIPNIK, SPECIAL TO RBTH – July 14, 2016) There are three […]
» Read morePutin Peers Into Shadows Where 30 Million Toil on Fringes
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Evgenia Pismennaya, Ilya Arkhipov – July 13, 2016) Just about every other worker in Russia has gone missing. Uncounted by statisticians and invisible to tax collectors, a population the size of Texas — or about 30 million people — plies its trade in the nooks and crannies of what’s become known as the “garage economy.” There, […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and Priority Projects
(Kremlin.ru – July 13, 2016) Vladimir Putin chaired the first meeting of the Presidential Council for Strategic Development and Priority Projects at the Kremlin. Before the meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and Priority Projects. Standing (from left to right): Presidential Aide Igor Levitin, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. Sitting: Education and Science Minister Dmitry […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK bne Intellinews: “Meet the stoligarchs, Putin’s pals who control a fifth of the Russian economy”
NEWSLINK Forbes/Kenneth Rapoza: “Russia Hints Of New Bond Offerings, Fearless Of Sanctions”
Russia’s Savior From Oil’s Drop Is Now Snuffing Out Recovery
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Andrey Biryukov – July 6, 2016) Russia is finding the flip side of a flexible currency less and less appealing. A free-floating ruble, its antidote to the crash in oil prices, is now working against an economy mired in the second year of recession. As crude soared by more than a third in March and April, […]
» Read moreHere’s What Putin Wants From Central Bank as Elections Near
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Anna Andrianova, Andre Tartar – July 5, 2016) Helping your president win elections doesn’t have to compromise a central bank’s independence, at least not in Russia. Monetary policy is aligning with politics before Vladimir Putin’s biggest test at the ballot box since he returned to the presidency in 2012. By claiming the upper hand in the […]
» Read moreAfter Initial ‘Painful Reaction,’ Russians ‘Quietly Adapting to Crisis,’ New Survey Finds
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, July 5, 2016) Dostoyevsky’s observation that “man is not a pig; he can get used to anything” is being confirmed by the attitudes of Russians about the economic crisis they find themselves in. If their first response was to cry out in pain, now, a new study finds, they “quietly adapting” to […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK The Washington Post/J. Paul Goode: “Russia’s leaders are happy about Brexit, but it won’t help the regime much at home.”
We Are Right, You Are Wrong: Russia’s Response to Brexit
(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Maxim Trudolyubov – June 29, 2016) Maxim Trudolyubov is a Senior Fellow at the Kennan Institute and the Editor-at-Large of Vedomosti, an independent Russian daily. Mr. Trudolyubov was the editorial page editor of Vedomosti between 2003 and 2015. He has been a contributing opinion writer for The International New York Times since the fall of […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Prokhorov’s Onexim says not selling all Russian assets” – Reuters
Onexim Group, owned by tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov, said on Monday a newspaper report suggesting it had decided to sell all its assets in Russia was inaccurate. * * * On Monday, Vedomosti newspaper had reported that Prokhorov was searching for buyers of all his assets in Russia, quoting multiple unnamed sources. Onexim owns stakes in aluminium giant Rusal, potash producer […]
» Read moreRussian Oil Exports Set for Record as Europe Competition Grows
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Stephen Bierman and Dina Khrennikova – July 3, 2016) Russian crude exports are on track to set a record this year, which is intensifying competition in Europe as Iran boosts shipments to the region. Exports rose 4.9 percent to 5.55 million barrels a day in the first half of the year from the same period in […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK The National Interest/Sergey Aleksashenko: “Is Russia’s Economy Doomed to Collapse? Putin must undertake serious reforms to keep the country competitive.”
TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting with Alexei Repik, President of Delovaya Rossiya national public organisation
(Kremlin.ru – June 30, 2016) Vladimir Putin discussed with Delovaya Rossiya President Alexei Repik the results of the union’s activity over the past 15 years and ways of improving the business climate in Russia. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, Mr Repik. This year marks 15 years since Delovaya Rossiya was founded. A great deal has been accomplished during […]
» Read moreRussia Seeks to Reassure Over Brexit Volatility
(Voice of America – voanews.com – Daniel Schearf – June 29, 2016) As Britain and Europe struggle to come to terms with the British vote in favor of leaving the European Union, financial markets are roiling across the globe, including in Russia. Even before the vote for a British EU exit, the head of Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, warned that […]
» Read moreRussian markets rode out Brexit volatility fairly smoothly – Nabiullina
ST. PETERSBURG. June 30 (Interfax) – Russian markets made it through the surge in volatility caused by the UK’s vote to leave the European Union fairly smoothly, Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina said at a financial conference on Thursday. “Speaking about Brexit, in or estimate its direct influence on the Russian financial system and economy will be fairly limited. We’ve […]
» Read moreMoscow a safe haven? Brexit erodes perceptions of political risk
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – NATASHA DOFF, KSENIA GALOUCHKO – June 28, 2016) Britain’s vote to quit the European Union has flipped perceptions of global political risk on their head. Brazil’s new government and Russia’s isolation represent a buying opportunity for Europe’s biggest asset manager as political chaos across the continent erodes developed economies’ traditional haven status. Even before the Brexit […]
» Read moreRussia Takes $6.2 Billion Bite Out of Banks to Soak Up Cash
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Olga Tanas, Anna Baraulina – June 28, 2016) It’s been blamed for fighting inflation at the expense of the economy and turning its targets into “fetishes.” Now Russian lenders say the central bank’s latest swipe at price risks is putting pressure on their bottom line and credit. Reserve-ratio requirements will be increased by 75 basis points […]
» Read moreThe Corner of Russia’s Economy Where Crisis Rages Unabated
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Andrey Biryukov – June 26, 2016) As Russia’s government counts the months to an economic rebound, a bellwether of investment is nearing levels of distress last seen during the throes of a recession seven years ago. The value of construction works plunged 9 percent from a year earlier in May, the worst showing since October, even […]
» Read moreWealthy Russian Families Lose Up to 75% of Their Income in 2015
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 24, 2016) Wealthy Russian families lost between 25 and 75 percent of their income in 2015, the Vedomosti business daily reported Thursday, citing the Russian Wealth Report 2016. On average, families with an annual income between 15 million and 100 million rubles ($235,000 to $1.5 million) lost 45 percent of their revenue, according to […]
» Read moreRBTH: Four possible effects of Brexit on Russia’s economy
Rather than being a boon, UK’s possible exit from the EU could cast the Russian economy into troubled waters. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – ALEXEI LOSSAN, KIRA EGOROVA, RBTH – June 27, 2016) Despite Russia being called one of Brexit’s possible beneficiaries, in reality the UK’s potential exit from the EU poses more risks for the Russian economy […]
» Read moreFive Rules for Living Through and Looking Beyond the Putin Stagnation
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, June 20, 2016) Those who lived through the Brezhnev stagnation, commentator Dmitry Gubin says, know that “when the chances for change for the better don’t exist, one must particularly carefully filter information and choose one’s strategy of behavior.” Now, Russia is in another such period, and to help them, he offers five […]
» Read moreSechin predicts oil price to reach $50-55 per barrel by end of 2016, $65 per barrel by end of 2017
MOSCOW. June 22 (Interfax) – Oil prices will reach the levels of $50-55 per barrel by the end of 2016 and $65 per barrel by the end of 2017, Rosneft (MOEX: ROSN) CEO Igor Sechin said during an interview with Rossiya-24 television. “The current volatility will continue. We think that by the end of the year we will stably reach […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Rival Kremlin camps prepare for battle over economy” – Reuters
Rival camps inside … Putin’s entourage are preparing to do battle … over whether the Russian state should keep its role as custodian of the economy. … the Kremlin presents a united front, especially in its stand-off with the West[;] in reality it is divided with Putin often having to act as umpire … On one side … is a […]
» Read moreRBTH: SPIEF 2016: Russia will attract only the best foreign technologies
Russia plans to set up a new presidential council to promote economic innovation, as business deals are unveiled. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – ALEXEI LOSSAN, RBTH – June 21, 2016) Participants in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) have signed agreements worth $15.8 billion, the executive secretary of its organizing committee, Anton Kobyakov, has announced. The official […]
» Read morePutin’s New Friendship Offensive Won’t Work Abroad or at Home, Shevtsova Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, June 19, 2016) Vladimir Putin’s “main message” at the St. Petersburg economics conference that Moscow “again wants to be friends” with the West will not work either in the West, which has been transformed by the Kremlin leader’s aggressiveness, or at home among Russians because he depends on continued anti-Western mobilization, Liliya […]
» Read more