A Question of Diversity: Growth is High, But Narrow
The search is clearly on for ways to buttress and increase growth in Russia’s economy. If GDP is to grow in accordance with targets set by President Vladimir Putin, doubling […]
Read MoreBig Help for Small Business: One Foreign Bank’s SME Loan Experience
If Russia’s economy is going to develop more diversity, one of the most important factors will be the ability to create a strong sector of small and medium-sized enterprises that […]
Read MoreNo Simple Case of Allegiance: Debunking the Radical Islam Stereotype in Central Asia
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan – The bomb attacks in the Uzbek capital Tashkent in August once again appeared to raise the spectre of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism in Central Asia. But to […]
Read MoreCrisis, What Crisis? The Banking Sector Weathers a Panicky Public
The Russian banking sector successfully weathered what might be described as a “pseudo-crisis” in early July, providing further evidence that the economy and financial system had developed to a point […]
Read MoreThe Banking Sector’s False Alarm: Despite Changes in the System, Old Fears Are Hard to Overcome
The inter-bank liquidity crisis in June that followed the withdrawal of licenses from two banks for money laundering provoked, perhaps inevitably, much speculation about a banking crisis, and once again […]
Read MoreArguing for Realism: How a lack of historical perspective distorts views of Russia’s development
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, the pendulum of domestic and international opinion on Russia has swung violently between irrational exuberance and irrational pessimism. […]
Read MoreTonic for Fever
Despite the slew of headline-grabbing news in recent months about the arrests of several of Russia’s leading businessmen, the failure of the pro-business liberal parties Yabloko and the Union of […]
Read MoreUpbeat Under Threat
Despite the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky last year and the subsequent calls for the deprivatisation of property by some political parties such as Rodina, the real estate market has been […]
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