The situation in eastern Ukraine and Russian-Ukrainian interstate relations saw a certain de-escalation in June 2014. In particular, Russia recognized new Ukrainian President P. Poroshenko. However, the situation remains to be tense. The east Ukrainian armed groups cannot see how they may exist...

Tensions in the eastern Ukraine were eased a bit in May 2014, although the causes of the conflict still remain to be resolved. There is a fragile balance today between the Ukrainian military forces and the armed groups of supporters of federalism in Donetsk and Lugansk regions. In the...

The situation in Ukraine ratcheted up sharply in April 2014 in the Dontesk and Lugansk Regions, where armed insurgents seized the regional administration buildings. Negotiations in Geneva between officials from Russia, Ukraine, the United States, and the European Union came to an agreement on...

In December, the Russian authorities made several symbolic gestures designed to sway public opinion both at home and abroad in favor of their policies. Thus, they pardoned Michail Khodorkovsky, Russia's number one political prisoner, and declared a large-scale amnesty marking the 20th...

In June 2015, the EU states extended for another six months the economic sanctions introduced against Russia, as before linking this issue to the fulfillment of the Minsk agreements. At the St Petersburg International Economic Forum held this month, several deals were concluded, the biggest...

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...

A new truce was arranged in Ukraine in February 2015, following a meeting involving the leaders of Russia, France and the German Chancellor. However, the very context of Minsk II Agreements repeats the numerous understatements of Minsk I Agreements and can be broken any time unless solid...

In January 2015, the Russian Government approved a plan providing for 10% budget spending cuts (except defense, social benefits, agriculture costs and external debt repayment) and extensive financial aid to the banking sector. Most of the proposals on supporting small businesses and lowering...