Since the inauguration of Dmitri Medvedev, it is clear that western powers have shown greater optimism regarding the future of Russia. On the whole, the former Cold War foe has recently shown greater steps at economic and political transparency, albeit as compared to an era ran by a predecessor who seized and nationalized private corporations [...]

Ian Bremmer, President of the Eurasia Group and author of The J-Curve and his latest book, The Fat Tail: The Power of Political Knowledge for Strategic Investing, recently participated in an online discussion with the Washington Post to discuss how politics is increasingly driving the world economy and having direct implications for investors and multinational corporations. His most recent [...]

An interesting report was featured in Reuters and more recently on Gamebids.com, on the 2014 Olympics to be held in Sochi, Russia, costing 15 percent less than originally anticipated as initial budget estimates exaggerated the projected cost. In a Reuters interview on Tuesday, March 11, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said the state will [...]

When turning on the television in the morning, one will no doubt catch glaring reminders that the world is entrenched in economic turmoil. The geopolitical chessboard will forever be reshaped, cast now in a multipolar mould. Christer Ljungwall has written an important analysis of China’s role in this new landscape, specifically pointing out that the [...]

Twenty years after the Soviet Union’s collapse, Kazakhstan joins Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine in abandoning its attempts to prop up exchange rates. Kazakhstan’s economic growth has screeched to a near halt – down to 1 percent from 10 percent, their central bank devaluing the tenge by 18 percent and their four biggest banks being [...]

  Here is a question: should we be relieved or even more worried by the announcement this week that the top three internet giants have adopted a common set of principals known as the Global Network Initiative (GNI), which promises greater protection of human rights and free speech with respect to each company’s business operations [...]

For years now I have closely followed developments at Russia’s Shtokman Field – a very large natural gas field in the Barent’s Sea. We have observed the Kremlin dangle the opportunity before several oil and gas multinationals, extracting the greatest political leverage possible. Today, the Wall Street Journal reports on the almost punitive terms of [...]

  It has become shorthand for journalists to describe Russia as “resurgent” and dramatically “more powerful” than it was in the year 2000. We generally accept this fact because of its impressive average economic growth of 6.4% over the past five years, swelling the GDP to $1.6 trillion. We also are led to this conclusion [...]

Over on my Russia-focused blog, I have been doing some writing on the case of TNK-BP, an energy joint venture operating in Russia, which has recently come under extraordinary pressure from the state to sell a controlling stake to the state-owned energy company.  In many ways, we have an ideal case study of corporate foreign [...]

  I hear a lot of convincing arguments about why we shouldn’t worry about the Kremlin’s sovereign wealth ambitions. After all, Russia’s $150 billion stabilization fund is comparatively tiny considering the returns that Gazprom and Rosneft are bringing in (though the dire lack of transparency of these state-owned firms make any estimation of capital management [...]