... Management Board, Institute of Contemporary Development, RIAC Member
Putin has dominated Russia since 1999. He now faces many problems, including how to transfer power, if at all. The West should prepare for change – or for no change.
Vladimir Putin has dominated the... ... faces, and what will he do when his term of office ends?
The performance of the Russian economy in recent years has been mixed. Inflation has fallen, foreign reserves have... ... had a number of successes, and when the West has pushed back, for example by imposing sanctions after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, his regime has used the external pressure...
... Russian people and government sounded more optimistic. What’s your opinion about Russia’s overall economic situation? Has diversification decided by President Vladimir Putin started to bear fruits?
A.K.:
The fundamental problem of the Russian economy is not in the Western sanctions. It is not even in a sharp decline of the global energy prices. In order to move ahead, Russia has to reinvent its model of economic development. The old model designed and assembled in early Putin’s years, has depleted its potential. ...
... Russian society already dissatisfied with the Russian government, such sanctions are a “bonus” of sorts that adds to their satisfaction over the Crimea annexation—Russia gets Crimea and despised elites are punished too.
Nevertheless, new sanctions on Russia’s financial, energy, and defense sectors in July and September will have growing costs for key companies and the overall economy over time. Moscow’s retaliatory ban on certain Western agricultural imports shows that Russia is ready to engage in a tit-for-tat economic conflict—even though Russian officials recognize the economic asymmetries between their country and the West.
Most importantly, beginning a new chapter is ...
