Impressions of the Saint-Petersburg International Economic Forum

This in about Economy, and tagged , was written by on May 23, 2014 . 122 Comments

I am currently in St. Petersburg where I have attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Before saying anything further I wish to thank Peter Lavelle of RT TV for very kindly and very generously arranging my invitation to the Forum. At the Forum I attended three roundtables: (1) On the InfoWars brilliantly hosted and […]

“Everything is Annihilated”: The Economic Split of Ukraine

This , in about Economy, and tagged , , , was written by on February 2, 2014 . 87 Comments

The attention of political analysts around the world is focused on the events in Ukraine. But at a certain moment, the fires die out and the riots subside – what will remain are the dry statistics. Translator’s notes: This is a translation of a post on the weblog “Sputnik and Pogrom”, the authors can be […]

The Russian Aerospace Industry is Rapidly Recovering

This in about Economy, and tagged , , was written by on September 2, 2013 . 9 Comments

More info against the Department of Russia Only Produces Oil and Vodka: Here are some graphs of Russian aerospace manufacturing courtesy of the Reality vs. Myths blog. (2013 figures are projections). Total helicopter construction has now basically converged with the levels of the late RSFSR. Aircraft construction is only halfway there, but its state is nonetheless leagues […]

Russia Overtakes Germany To Become Europe’s Largest Economy

This in about Economy, and tagged , , , was written by on July 12, 2013 . 38 Comments

See data. For real, this time. While it is perhaps a big strange to start thinking of Russia as a high-income economy, it’s not so surprising when looking at concrete statistics such as vehicle consumption, Internet penetration, etc. – all of which are now at typical South European and advanced East-Central European levels (even if there’s still some […]

Russia’s Economic “Stagnation” In Global Perspective: Continued

This in about Economy, and tagged , , was written by on July 3, 2013 . 30 Comments

It is now a staple of “common wisdom” to such an extent that there is little point in digging up specific news items. Bound up in red tape and crushed by the weight of state regulations, the argument goes, the Russian economy is doomed to years of renewed Brezhnevite stagnation – with the government increasing […]

Translation: Russia’s Growth Rate may Plummet in the Next Decade

This in about Economy, and tagged , , was written by on May 24, 2013 . Leave a Comment

According to several experts, Russia may be facing a period of protracted low growth rates now that its GDP per capita has recently exceeded $16,000. Vedomosti’s Olga Kuvshinova has the details. Russia may Experience Minimal Growth in the Next 10 Years A variety of reasons are brought up to explain the Russian economy’s slowdown to […]

The West Made Its Bed, Now Russia Will Lie In China’s

This in , about Economy, and tagged , , , , was written by on April 11, 2013 . 10 Comments

The latest US-Russia.org Experts Panel discussion was about Russia’s burgeoning partnership with China. I especially recommend Mercouris’ contribution which – although unfortunately titled by VoR’s editorial staff)) – is otherwise quite brilliant. My own effort follows below: First of all, let me preface that I’m one of the biggest China bulls around. Its economy in real […]

Explaining Russia’s Economic Slowdown

This in about Economy, and tagged , , was written by on April 1, 2013 . 15 Comments

The Russian economy is steadily converging on stagnation in the past few months. For real, this time. Businesses are becoming more pessimistic, and industrial production in the first two months of this year is 1.5% lower than for the corresponding period last year. What explains this? Alexander Mercouris explains: Might this not be a good […]

Russia Moving Into The Fastlane

This in about Economy, and tagged , , was written by on March 29, 2013 . 2 Comments

One of the most reliable indicators of influence is access to cars. They are the standard symbol of affluence and middle-class status the world over. They are also far more understandable at the everyday level than things like the PPP GDP per capita, or the number of burgers your national McWage will buy. Following on […]

Russians Produce 7 Cars For Every 10 They Buy

This in about Economy, and tagged , , , was written by on March 28, 2013 . 3 Comments

One common trope about the Russian economy is that it has virtually no manufacturing to speak of and lives off “oil rents” that can collapse any day. Whiles there is a small nugget of truth to this assertion, but by and large it is simply false. It is true that a great chunk of Russian […]

On The Cyprus Deal

This in about Economy, and tagged , , , was written by on March 26, 2013 . 14 Comments

As a Greek with contacts in Cyprus, his opinion is one of the most valuable ones out there. Here it is: We have now the latest bailout plan and contrary to the spin in parts of the western media it is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from the plan we saw last week. What was utterly outrageous about […]

The Western Media’s War Against Cyprus And Russia

This in about Economy, and tagged , , , , , , was written by on March 21, 2013 . 43 Comments

If you ever manage to get a troupe as diverse as Latynina, Mark Adomanis, the Cypriot Communist Party, virtually every financial analyst, Prokhorov, and Putin united in condemning your crass stupidity and cack-handedness, it’s probably time to stop and ponder. But it’s safe to say that’s not what the Troika – the European Commission, European Central Bank, and IMF […]

A Few Myths About Chavez’s Venezuela

This in about Economy, and tagged , , was written by on March 9, 2013 . 6 Comments

Okay, I promise this will be the last post on the matter. But some of the tropes that come up time and time again in coverage of Chavez’s legacy, from neocons and faux-leftists alike, just have to be addressed for me to rest easy. Note that this is NOT meant to be comprehensive; just some […]

Russia Now Produces As Many Cars As The USSR Did At Its Peak

This in about Economy, and tagged , , , was written by on February 25, 2013 . 14 Comments

As I write the book, I create a lot of graphs. Here is one of them. So in manufacturing terms, as far as cars are concerned, the “deindustrialization” era is decidedly over. Of course it’s also important to note that in 1985 they were producing this whereas today they are producing this as well as various […]

Russia’s Budget Is Getting More Transparent

This in about Economy, and tagged , , was written by on January 24, 2013 . 3 Comments

Not often that you see Russia in some color other than bloody red on a world map of corruption or institutional quality. But according to the Open Budget Index (2012 results), the Russian budget is actually pretty transparent as far as these things go. Of the major countries, only the UK (88), France (83), and […]

Andrew Ryvkin’s Strange Ideas About The Russian Economy

This in about Economy, and tagged , , , was written by on January 21, 2013 . 6 Comments

By the usual standards of Guardian reporting on Russia, this one by GQ Russia editor Andrew Ryvkin is… well, about par for the course. Citing a recent PwC report that Russia will overtake Germany to become Europe’s biggest economy in 2030, he asks, “Should we believe them?” Well, the PwC is just repeating predictions made […]

Blast From The Past: What Jim Rogers Said About Russia In 2003

This in about Economy, and tagged , , , , was written by on September 21, 2012 . 4 Comments

This guy isn’t as clear-headed as Eric Kraus, is he? But does have company in the form of Andrew Miller, Jeffrey Tailer, “Streetwise Professor”, and Ed Lucas. H/t Mark Adomanis. —– Original Message —–  From: Dmitry Alimov  To: [email protected]  Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 11:28 PM  Subject: Conversation with Jim Rogers – HILARIOUS Jim Rogers, a famous international investor […]

Russia Overtaking USSR, Converging With West, On Food, Housing Consumption

This in about Economy, and tagged , , was written by on August 18, 2012 . 4 Comments

Just to hammer down the myth of Russian impoverishment one more time (with the help of graphs from Sergey Zhuravlev’s blog)… In the past few years, in terms of basic necessities (food, clothing, housing) Russia has basically (re)converged to where the Soviet Union left off. Here is a graph of food consumption via Zhuravlev. At the bottom, the […]

The World Economy’s Orbit

This in about Economy, and tagged , , was written by on August 15, 2012 . 1 Comment

The map below shows the shifting location of the world’s economic center of gravity. It was compiled by McKinsey and reproduced by The Economist. All is broadly as one might expect. In pre-industrial times, the world’s economic center of gravity was always basically triangulated between India, China, and the Roman Empire (later North-West Europe). By […]

On Defending The Soviet Union

This in about Economy, and tagged , , , , , , , was written by on July 12, 2012 . 197 Comments

Contrary to what some might try to take from my post on the longterm failure of the Soviet economy, I am not an anti-Soviet ideologue. I loathe lies about its achievements and the blanket condemnations directed its way by moralistic poseurs every bit as much or more than I detest reality-challenged attempts to paint it […]