The purpose of this study is to analyze the course, determinants and political economy of economic reforms in Russia conducted in the period 1985-2003. The year 1985 can be considered an important turning point in Soviet/Russian history, marked as it was by the election of Mikhail Gorbachev to...

The purpose of this study is to analyze the course, determinants and political economy of economic reforms in Russia conducted in the period 1985-2003. The year 1985 can be considered an important turning point in Soviet/Russian history, marked as it was by the election of Mikhail Gorbachev to...

Adam Smith pointed out public respect, prestige as significant component of compensation "for some employment" ("honorableness ... of employment"). We assumed, the public moral sanction on success (Weber), public demand for "self-made man" should correlate positively with number of businessmen...

The October 2012 single day of voting produced approximately the same results for United Russia as were achieved by it in the 2011 parliamentary elections. The CPRF also had a good showing at the polls. The two other parliamentary parties – Fair Russia and the LDPR – did not manage to...

Against the backdrop of dramatically fluctuating oil prices, the main news of January were the plans declared by the Russian government, in particular the budget expenditure cut by 10%, the possibility of privatization of certain big state-owned entities, and the renewal of external borrowing....

In December, President of Russia Vladimir Putin delivered the Annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly. During the traditional press conference he expressed his approval of the policies pursued by the RF Government and the Bank of Russia, noting that the current situation was...

Notes on the Endogenous Generation of Political Competition. An attempt at a formalized description of the formation process of constitutionally limited Government when a balance of forces is preserved among the "bandits" (strongmen) competing for power. Magna Carta treaty as institution,...

As far as Russia is concerned, the main news of May 2015 was the celebration of the 70th anniversary of VE day. Inside Russia, this country's victory in WW2 was celebrated with true enthusiasm on a massive scale. However, an overwhelming majority of foreign heads of state had chosen to ignore...

In March 2015, the topmost headline-makers were various economic issues, including the ongoing discussion on the new draft budget for 2015-2017 and on the future course of Russia's economic policy. However, the beginning of March was also marked by two very serious and purely political events:...

How to import modern Western Institutions to suppress economic growth in underdeveloped countries? Russian experience and some warnings for newcoming reformers The monograph "Institutional Constraints on Modern Economic Growth" deals with the most dangerous obstacles standing in the way of long...