- Conversation, Why Russian Thinks It’s Exceptional, by Gregory Carleton
- Moscow Times, Russia's Economic Lost Chance, by Sergei Aleksashenko
- At the turn of 2014-2015, it was uncertain as to whether the Russian economy would emerge standing. Economist Yakov Mirkin explains what saved the Russian economy and lists major risks to its future.
- Growth in the global economy; the rise in prices for raw materials and the continued demand for Russian raw materials; dynamics of the dollar/euro exchange rate; trade relations with the EU that have proved to be strong; the devaluation of the ruble in 2014 that, while painful, was useful for the economy; the “crutch economy” (artificially normal market conditions created by the state); and the “shadow economy,” which has grown since 2014 in reaction to economic crisis.
- Mirkin argues that any new shock to the economy could ruin it, especially since there is nothing more volatile than world prices for raw materials, exchange rates, and the whims of non-resident investors. The main risks to the future of the Russian economy are:
- Remaining a predominantly commodity economy; high military expenditures; nationalization, superconcentration, and the tightening of administrative pressure; archaic view of life that does not value technological development; the financial risk associated with banks and with the system of carry trades; external issues: the destabilization of raw materials prices, the strengthening of the dollar, external geopolitical shocks; and long term technological risks, due to the sanctions.