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In conjunction with the Carnegie Endowment’s International Economics Program, the Moscow Center’s program monitors and analyses short- and long-term trends in the Russian economy, including macroeconomic developments, trade, commodities, and capital flows, and draws out policy implications for Russia and the post-Soviet space. The program also focuses on Russia’s integration into the global economy, with particular emphasis on trade, including in hydrocarbons and other commodities.
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The program covers a broad spectrum of foreign policy and security issues, including Russia’s relations with the U.S. and Western Europe, the creation of a common Euro-Atlantic security system, Russia’s cooperation with its neighbors, the evolving relationship with Central and Eastern Europe, and the development of ties with China, Japan and other Asian powers.
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The program seeks to support dialogue – both within Russia and between Russia and the United States – on issues of nonproliferation, international oversight of nuclear materials, the ratification of treaties on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, international cooperation on missile defense, and responses to the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs.
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The program views the development of the post-Soviet space through the prism of religion, ethnicity and other socio-cultural factors. Particular attention is paid to the role of Islam, problems of nationalism and the formation of political and economic elites. The program studies the situation in Central Asia and in the Caucasus, the position of ethnic minorities and inter-ethnic relations in various Russian regions, including Chechnya, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and Dagestan, and the sustainable development of the oil and gas producing countries of the Caspian basin.
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Current political affairs and long-term trends – including the evolution of Russia’s leadership structure – are studied in depth and in comparative context. The program studies Russia’s political institutions, shifting balances of power between the federal center and the regions, changing public attitudes towards democracy, and theoretical issues of politics, economics, power and business.
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The program examines the evolution of Russian civil society and relations between citizens and various levels of government, in the context of the economic, social and political development of Russia’s regions. Since 2005, the program has conducted ongoing monitoring of the democratic development of Russia’s regions, with reports regularly published on a dedicated website.
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The Center takes part in a wide range of cross-border initiatives with partners throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia, supporting exchange between Russian civil society organizations and their counterparts in neighboring countries. The program pursues two key vectors: problems of democratization and the development of civil society, and capacity building for independent public policy analysis.
