The Duma and Military Reform
Military reform is on the agenda again in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin– despite his pro-army and "Great Russia" rhetoric–seems to have recognized that the army and the other power…
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Russia
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The Limits of US Influence on Russian Economic Policy
When the Soviet Union broke apart nine years ago, Western observers voiced dire predictions about Russia's fate. Some warned that a quasi-fascist or military dictatorship would seize power; others spoke…
Western Perceptions of Russian Nationalism
In the past decade, Russian nationalism has become a popular topic among Western scholars, journalists, and commentators. Although not an entirely new theme among Russia-watchers, nationalism achieved a level of…
Putin and the Russian Military
When Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, first as the appointed acting president and then as the duly elected leader of Russia, many people predicted that it heralded the…
Exchange Rate Policy After the Currency Crisis: Walking the Tightrope
Although the August 1998 currency crisis came as a surprise to at least some observers, the rapid recovery of the Russian economy after the crisis was even more unexpected. Unlike…
Accessing the Inaccessible: The Case for Opening Up Russia’s Closed Cities
The selling of weapons-related nuclear knowledge by Russian scientists for economic gain constitutes a threat to US national security. Some estimate that the number of Russian scientists seeking permanent employment…
Russia’s Periphery in the Global Arena: Do Regions Matter in the Kremlin’s Foreign Policy?
The conventional wisdom is that since the collapse of Communism the regions and republics of the Russian Federation have taken advantage of political and economic decentralization to articulate and conduct…
Too Much of a Good Thing? High Oil Prices and Russian Monetary Policy
The gloom that followed the August 1998 financial crisis has given way, in some circles, to euphoria. In the first half of 2000, the Russian economy grew by 7.5% compared…
Will the West Reduce Russia’s Debt?
Having successfully rescheduled its debt to foreign commercial banks through the London Club last fall and obtained a reduction of principal and interest rates, Russia now turns to the Paris…
Russia’s Path to a New Regional Policy
In August 1990 Boris Yeltsin traveled to Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, to urge the local authorities to "take as much autonomy as you can swallow." Ten years later, newly…