Latest Articles about Economics

Rosneft Expands Its Presence in South Caucasus Via Georgia

Late in 2014, Russian state oil company Rosneft acquired 49 percent of the Georgian company Petrocas Energy Group, which owns a strategically important oil terminal at the port of Poti and Georgia’s most extensive network of gas stations, branded as Gulf (Rosneft.com, December 29, 2014).... MORE

Uzbekistan’s Unrealized Potential in Cross-Border Trade

Uzbekistan is conveniently located at the center of Central Asia and borders on all Central Asian countries as well as Afghanistan; moreover, it lies in relatively close proximity to the various prodigiously developing markets of Asia. Nonetheless, Uzbekistan has been slow to embrace or champion... MORE

Russian Expert Warns North Caucasus Faces Economic Recession

“No money in the federal budget [of the Russian Federation means] no happiness in the republics of the North Caucasus,” Russian economic geographer Natalya Zubarevich told the Kavkazsky Uzel website. According to the expert, from January to October 2014, the North Caucasus republics received the... MORE

Kyrgyzstan Draws Closer to Eurasian Union Amid Crisis in Russia

On January 1, 2015, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, along with Armenia, co-launched the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). The founding treaty of this economic bloc?whose genesis is widely attributed to Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev, although it has become the key focus of Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy... MORE

Year-End Turbulence in Belarus

In the second half of December 2014, five interrelated themes engaged media attention: the last salvos of the Belarus-Russia trade war (see EDM, December 3, 2014); Russia’s reactions to Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s statements regarding this war and his trip to Kyiv; Lukashenka’s speech at... MORE

Russia’s Faltering Economy Causing Currency Crisis in Armenia

Armenia’s strong economic dependence on the Russian Federation is dramatically being highlighted at the moment by the devaluation of the Russian ruble and the general economic decline in Russia. The structure of Armenia’s economy and the character of its relationship with Russia suggest that Armenian... MORE

Russia Enters New Year Mired in Troubles

The post–New Year holidays in Russia have brought less joy or happy expectations than usual to the country’s elites, the urban middle classes and even to Russia’s millions of labor migrants. Over the past 15 years, all these groups shared in the country’s prosperity, which... MORE