Uses world history, the Soviet experience, and economic analysis to demonstrate why Russian nostalgia for empire could lead to repeating past strategies that result in instability, leaving Russia vulnerable to economic downturns - Provided by publisher

Our objective in this paper is to assess how middle-income groups are faring with the global turn to the market. We suggest some simple measures of the middle-the size and income shares of households around the median (75/125%)-and their income status relative to wealthier counterparts. Our...