The political background of January was mainly determined by the events unfolding in Ukraine. The adoption, by the Ukrainian parliament, of a package of repressive laws restricting freedom of assembly and introducing harsh penalties for their viola?? on, resulted in the situation in Ukraine...

The socio-political background of April 2013 was determined by the ongoing attacks on the government launched by the RF President and the law enforcement agencies; by the continuing debate around the issue of how to find the most effective way of stimulating economic growth; and by the...

Socio-political environment. June 2013 was relatively quiet, but its major events were triggered by recently accumulated political conflicts and confrontations.

Escalation of socio-political tensions in July 2013 was caused by upcoming elections in various regions on September 8, 2013. The tension, in its turn, reflects general uptrend in political activity, which has been of cellular nature so far, of both common citizens and elite groups. Main...

The past year was transitional from the crisis period to a normal development. Russia’s GDP increased 4% in 2010. GDP and industrial production nearly recovered by the end of 2010, reaching 97-99% of the values recorded in September 2008, as estimated by Rosstat. These values show that as...

A few words about the socio-political background that triggered some of the key economic events of December 2013. The most important political event of the month was the unexpected release from jail of former oil tycoon Michail Khodorkovsky who had spent 10 years and 2 months behind bars. As...

Russia’s political background in May was determined by the mounting tension in the top echelons of the political bureaucracy. The sacking of Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov – one of the authors of the soft authoritarianism of the 2000s – was a manifestation of yet another personnel...

The main event in March which is having long-term political and economic consequences was the accession of Crimea to Russia, based on the results of the referendum conducted on 16 March. It has resulted in the most serious tension in the relations between Russia and Western countries since the...

The 2008 military and economic processes in RF have found themselves affected by changes in the nation’s military and political leadership – the new Supreme Commander-in-Chief, new faces on key positions in the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian...

When estimating the slight improvement of the Russian economy’s indicators displayed early this autumn, it should be borne in mind that in the autumn of 2012 the economy had already entered the phase of steep slowdown.