Economy - Institute of Modern Russia

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Russian Business Is Unwilling to Invest in Development

Details: Economics

Russian Business Is Unwilling to Invest in Development

Details: 29 February 2016; Sergey Aleksashenko

Sergey Aleksashenko, nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank, comments on recent key developments impacting the Russian economy.

Russia’s Post-Crimea Enthusiasm Wearing Off

Details: Economics

Russia’s Post-Crimea Enthusiasm Wearing Off

Details: 16 February 2016; Sergei Aleksashenko

Sergei Aleksashenko, nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank, looks at the preliminary statistical data published by the country’s Federal Service of State Statistics (Rosstat), and notes that though officials try to downplay inflation growth, pessimism among Russian citizens is increasing. A deterioration of living standards is causing the country’s post-Crimea “patriotic enthusiasm” to wear off.

Russia’s $100 Billion Pension System Is a Dangerous Zombie. Part 2

Details: Economics

Russia’s $100 Billion Pension System Is a Dangerous Zombie. Part 2

Details: 03 September 2015; Ezekiel Pfeifer

In part one of this two-part story, IMR analyst Ezekiel Pfeifer examined how the Russian pension system managed to build up annual deficits of more than $50 billion. In part two, he attempts to answer the eternal Russian question in relation to this massive problem: What is to be done?

Russia’s $100 Billion Pension System Is a Dangerous Zombie. Part 1

Details: Economics

Russia’s $100 Billion Pension System Is a Dangerous Zombie. Part 1

Details: 02 September 2015; Ezekiel Pfeifer

According to current projections, Russia’s pension system faces annual deficits of more than $50 billion in the coming years, while the number of retirees is on the rise. The government has tinkered with the system in an attempt to fill the gap, but some experts insist that the changes have only made things worse. In part one of a two-part story, IMR analyst Ezekiel Pfeifer examines the origins of the pension system’s acute and chronic ailments.

The Kremlin’s Economic Gambit

Details: Economics

The Kremlin’s Economic Gambit

Details: 20 August 2015; Ezekiel Pfeifer

Despite the conventional view that Russia’s economy will rebound when the price of oil swings upward, experts agree that what it really needs is an influx of capital investment. As IMR analyst Ezekiel Pfeifer writes, the Kremlin is attempting to stimulate investment by taking the risky step of allowing people’s wages to decline. The question is: Will the gambit work?

Russia’s Currency Reserves: More than Enough or Alarmingly Low?

Details: Economics

Russia’s Currency Reserves: More than Enough or Alarmingly Low?

Details: 27 July 2015; Ezekiel Pfeifer

Russia’s foreign currency reserves have plummeted by more than $140 billion since the beginning of 2014, but the current level of $360 billion is more than adequate to cover short-term debt payments. Because of the structure of the reserves, however, they are actually more vulnerable than appears at first glance, writes IMR analyst Ezekiel Pfeifer.

Why Russians Should Be Protesting the Same Thing as #ElectricYerevan

Details: Economics

Why Russians Should Be Protesting the Same Thing as #ElectricYerevan

Details: 15 July 2015; Ezekiel Pfeifer

A series of protests broke out in Armenia last month over a seemingly insignificant increase in the price of electricity. But this increase is part of a larger trend of rate hikes by utility companies that have the pernicious effect of driving up inflation. As IMR analyst Ezekiel Pfeifer explains, these rate hikes have a particularly destructive effect in Russia, where demonstrations may just break out next.

Cheese Will Not Save the Russian Economy

Details: Economics

Cheese Will Not Save the Russian Economy

Details: 29 June 2015; Ezekiel Pfeifer

With Russia suddenly unable to access imports that it had grown dependent on, government officials have promoted import substitution as a way to make structural changes to the economy and help the country recover in the short term. Unfortunately, according to IMR analyst Ezekiel Pfeifer, the opportunities presented by domestic production of things like dairy products, chemicals, and naval vessels are limited.

Is the Iran Deal a Game Changer for Russia?

Details: Economics

Is the Iran Deal a Game Changer for Russia?

Details: 09 April 2015; Olga Khvostunova

On April 2, six world powers signed a tentative deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program. Should it be finalized in June, one of the outcomes of the deal will be the lifting of the oil embargo from Iran—a country that has some of the world’s largest oil and gas reserves. IMR analyst and editor-in-chief of imrussia.org, Olga Khvostunova, discusses how the deal could affect the Russian energy sector.

Russian Ruble Roulette

Details: Economics

Russian Ruble Roulette

Details: 30 December 2014; Tatiana Stanovaya

On December 16, the Russian market suffered one of its worst financial crashes, known as Black Tuesday. In the wake of an emergency move by the Russian Central Bank to raise its benchmark interest rate to 17 percent, Russia’s currency plunged unexpectedly to 80 rubles to the dollar and 100 rubles to the euro. According to political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya, in the face of these new challenges, the Russian government is proving both powerless and inept, while its inertness threatens to bring the country to the brink of chaos.

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