Hunting the Bear in the Kremlin
The Financial Crisis in Russia
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The abundance of raw materials and hard currency reserves did not protect Russia from the international financial crisis. The hard currency reserves have melted away, and the stock market has noted large losses in value. At the same time, the price of oil has fallen. The economy was not modernised and diversified. Now highly indebted banks and companies are calling for state assistance. The Kremlin has submitted an anti-crisis programme, made liquidity available, and is planning investments in the infrastructure and protectionist measures. But the programme is ambivalent. The state is at the limit of its possibilities.
(Osteuropa 12/2008, pp. 41–50)