Category: Russia
The analysis published under this category are as follows.Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Chechnya Oil Pipeline Politics True Underlying Cause for Moscow Metro Bombings / Politics / Russia
The tragic news of the 29 March twin suicide bombings of two Moscow Metro stations during the morning rush hour has produced outrage worldwide, with the Kremlin quickly adding that the attacks were carried out by the Caucasus Mujaheddin, a northern Caucasus-based militant Islamist guerrilla group that claimed responsibility for the bombing of a Moscow to St. Petersburg express train last November.
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Saturday, March 20, 2010
Russian Economy Growing Stronger than Expected / Economics / Russia
The growth of the GDP of the Russian Federation will reach the level of 4-4.5 percent in 2010 and may further increase to 6 percent. Putin said in December of 2009 that the nation’s GDP would grow by approximately three percent in 2010. The bailout measures taken by the Russian government produced a positive effect, the prime minister added.
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Thursday, March 18, 2010
Russian Economy Outstrips BRIC Peers / Economics / Russia
With the price of oil now up to 80 USD per barrel (after hitting 40 USD in early 2009) and a continued strengthening of the currency set to last, Russian funds received 411 million dollars in foreign investment in the week ending March 11, the highest level in six months, nearly half of this going into Exchange-Traded Funds tracking Russian indexes, a clear sign of the confidence in the emerging markets in Russia.
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Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Vladimir Lisin, Russia's New Richest Man / Politics / Russia
Finance magazine published the annual list of Russian billionaires. The list includes the names of 500 individuals, whose fortune is evaluated at not less than 3.3 billion rubles. There are 77 dollar billionaires in Russia today, which marked a considerable increase in comparison with the beginning of 2009, when the economic crisis caused financial damage to many Russian billionaires.
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Thursday, February 04, 2010
Army of Unemployed Russians Grows Steadily / Economics / Russia
About 500,000 Russian citizens may lose their jobs in the nearest future, Vice Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov believes. The number of Russians on an enforced leave will not diminish either, he said.
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Russia Settles USSR's Debt to London Club / Economics / Russia
Russia has finally paid off the debt to the London Club of Creditors. Russia has thus paid the entire debt of the former Soviet Union to private-owned commerce banks in Western Europe, the USA and Japan. The debt appeared as a result of the loans, which the USSR’s Vnesheconombank (Foreign Economic Bank) raised in the above-mentioned countries before December 31, 1991.
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Saturday, January 23, 2010
Russia's Large Shadow Economy Makes Economic Forecasting Difficult / Economics / Russia
One-fifth of the Russian economy is shadowed, the Russian Statistics Agency (Rosstat) said. The actual volume of the Russian economy is unknown, which makes economic forecasts for the country difficult. The shadow started growing at the end of 2008 when the economic crisis hit Russia. However, there were no massive moves towards the shadow zone in the Russian economy, experts believe.
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Sunday, December 13, 2009
Average Russian is 8 Times Poorer Than Average European / Economics / Russia
The latest research indicated that the size of the average European’s savings account is seven times greater than that of the average Russian. It would seem that the reasons are obvious – Russians are seven times poorer than residents of the European Union. However, it’s only a part of the picture. Sociologists say that 70% of Russians do not have bank deposits and 50% of them have no savings at all. Therefore, the average Russian is 8 times poorer than the average European.
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Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Russian Markets Lose $26 Billion To Dubai World Debt Default News / Stock-Markets / Russia
Dubai World state fund that found itself on a brink of default nearly caused a new world crisis. Due to the information about a possible collapse of the international logistics center, Russian stock market lost approximately $26 billion within a few minutes, experts say. The pa nic did not last long, and the Russian ruble only lost 20 kopeks. Yet, the experts believe that the Russian ruble may lose 10% of its value by the end of the year and another 10% in the first quarter of the next year. This will cause stagnation of the Russian economy and a possibility of a new devaluation.
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Sunday, October 25, 2009
The Vague Future of the Russian Ruble / Currencies / Russia
The "profitable" Russian ruble is trying to strengthen its position against the US dollar. The situation in the internal currency market in Russia is still affected by the external environment and speculative intentions of investors. Although the prospects of further strengthening of the Russian currency are increasingly obscure, analysts believe that the price of 29 rubles per US dollar is unattainable in the near future.
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Sunday, October 04, 2009
IMF Optimistic About Russian Economy in 2010 / Economics / Russia
The International Monetary Fund published a report about the situation in the Russian economy in 2010. The nation’s GDP will drop by 7.5 percent in 2009, which is a larger number than in the previous report, but a smaller one if compared with the expectations of the Russian government. As for the next year, the IMF is more optimistic about it and expects a 1.5-percent growth of the GDP.
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Friday, September 25, 2009
Financial Crisis in Russia Ruins Economies of Post Soviet States / Economics / Russia
Migrant workers who earn their living in the Russian Federation sharply reduced the size of bank transfers to their families. According to the report of Asia Development Bank, in the first six months of 2009, the sum of money transferred by migrants to the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia reduced by approximately 25 percent compared to the same period last year. However, the money transferred by guest workers is a serious support factor for the economies of post-Soviet countries.
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Monday, September 21, 2009
Russia's Crumbling Infrastructure Needs $2 Trillion for Major Modernization / Economics / Russia
The 2009 Sayano–Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Power Station disaster once again made everyone think of modernization of the entire Russian infrastructure.
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Thursday, September 17, 2009
Russia Loans Venezuela $2.2 Billion to Buy Russian Arms / Politics / Russia
Venezuela has spent about $4.5 billion on Russia’s military hardware within the scope of 12 contracts that were officially signed during the recent several years. The Latin American nation particularly bought 24 Su-30 jets, tens of battle choppers and 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.
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Thursday, September 17, 2009
Russian Oligarchs Escape from Russia Leaving Ruined Companies Behind / Companies / Russia
As soon as air castles built on oil money start crumbling, Russian businessmen run to escape behind the thick walls of their oversea mansions. There they are unreachable for their creditors and police authorities. Unfortunately, debunking of mediocre management only results in the redistribution of property and does not lead to punishment.
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Tuesday, September 01, 2009
The Geopolitical Western View of Russia / Politics / Russia
A months-long White House review of a pair of U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) installations slated for Poland and the Czech Republic is nearing completion. The review is expected to present a number of options ranging from pushing forward with the installations as planned to canceling them outright. The Obama administration has yet to decide what course to follow. Rumors are running wild in Poland and the Czech Republic that the United States has reconsidered its plan to place ballistic defense systems in their countries. The rumors stem from a top U.S. BMD lobbying group that said this past week that the U.S. plan was all but dead.
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Sunday, August 30, 2009
America's Deepening Inferiority Complex Begins to Bite Russia / Politics / Russia
Robert Bridge writes: As the US beats a path through a social, political and economic forest of epic proportions, is it mere coincidence that news stories on Russia are becoming more hostile than ever?
Strangely, the end of the Cold War did not significantly alter the Western media’s perceptions of Russia. In fact, the collapse of communism seems to have forced the American media establishment to dish out the dirt on Russia with more gusto than ever before.
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Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Russia Denies $5 Billion Secret Energy Loan to Ukraine / Economics / Russia
Russia is not going to give credits to Ukraine to purchase Russian natural gas. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko asked a five-billion-dollar loan from the Russian Federation in February of the current year. It was later reported that Russia supposedly agreed to provide such a loan if Ukraine spent $3 billion of the amount to purchase Russia’s natural gas. However, the government of Ukraine rejected the information in May.
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Thursday, August 06, 2009
Russian Tobacco Makers Relaunch Iconic Soviet CCP Cigarette Brands / Companies / Russia
The Russian tobacco market has been showing a curious trend recently. The cheapest and premium class cigarette brands currently enjoy the biggest demand in Russia. Many tobacco companies focus their efforts on the inexpensive segment and resume the production of Soviet brands, BFM.ru business portal said.
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Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Putin 10 Years Turn Semi-Democratic Russia into a Authoritarian State / Politics / Russia
This coming weekend marks the 10th anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s assumption of a leadership position at the Kremlin. Much has happened since Putin’s appointment as first vice prime minister in August 1999, but Russia’s most definitive evolution was from the unstable but semidemocratic days of the 1990s to the statist, authoritarian structure of today.
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