Carnegie Moscow Center
Putin’s expected return to the presidency in early 2012 comes at a time of great economic uncertainty. Although Russia’s economy is stable at the moment, Russia will have to modernize in order to remain stable and competitive in the long run.
NATO is facing a number of serious challenges from the current fiscal and security environment and the successful realization of the alliance’s security responsibilities requires dependable partners that more equitably share the ensuing burden.
Too often, debate on the relationship between Europe and Russia is driven by events—including elections, changes in leadership, and summits—which may provide important policy openings but do not always allow for thoughtful consideration of the long-term factors that shape the relationship.
In 2001, analysts at Goldman Sachs came up with the acronym BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) as a way to promote investment in emerging markets. But the acronym has taken on a new meaning since then, and the four countries have started using it to pursue their own political ambitions.
The IMF and other Western institutions played a marginal role in the Russian default of 1998. However, working with the IMF was instrumental in teaching Russian authorities how to think through problems more comprehensively.
Russia is both a resurgent power on the international stage and a key partner for Europe. However, the country still faces a myriad of social and economic challenges.
Russia’s economic fortunes often determine the popularity of its leaders, and the personality of those leaders, in turn, influences the country’s socio-political development.
Russia’s economy suffered one of the world’s steepest declines in gross domestic product in the wake of the global financial crisis. Two years later, Russia’s economic indicators still tell a grim story.
The euro crisis is driven primarily by two elements – problematic sovereign debt in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and fragile European banks. While ballooning public debt may be the clearest manifestation of the euro crisis, its roots go much deeper.
The financial crisis has exposed the weaknesses in a number of national and international financial institutions. It has also created the opportunity to develop an integrated regulatory framework for the global financial sector.