author

 
 

Meta

Anders Aslund
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2012
Putin's bad neighbor policy reaps poor harvest
Russia has shown itself to be an international spoiler with its ardent support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. The contrast with its benign policy toward Libya in 2011 reflects how Russian foreign policy changed with the return of Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin. On foreign policy, at least, Russia's...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2012
Snow Revolution's orange shadow
Vladimir Putin's regime is warning Russians that their budding "Snow Revolution" will be as big a mistake as Ukraine's Orange Revolution of 2004. But, while the similarities between these two popular movements are palpable, their differences are essential, so comparing them might help the Russian opposition...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 9, 2011
'Financial repression' and other remedies
Early in the financial crisis, a major emerging-market investor told me: "This is not a global, but a semi-global financial crisis." He was right: it really was a crisis of the United States, Europe and Japan. Among emerging markets, only Eastern Europe was badly hit. Indeed, the crisis marks the emerging...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 5, 2009
Putin's 'siloviki' move to resume command
STOCKHOLM — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recently announced that Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have abandoned their separate talks to join the World Trade Organization. Instead, they would seek to enter the world trade body as a single customs union. In effect, this means that Russia seems...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 23, 2008
Russia entering third act of financial tragedy
WASHINGTON — The whole world is being hit by a tremendous financial crisis, but Russia is facing a perfect storm. The Russian stock market is in free fall, plummeting by 60 percent since May 19, for a loss of $900 billion. And the plunge is accelerating. As a result, Russia's economic growth is likely...
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2008
Inflation caused by Ukraine's peg to dollar
KIEV — Inflation in Ukraine is skyrocketing. By March, it reached 26 percent per year and continues to rise. Although prices are increasing around the world, Ukraine's is extreme, twice as much as in neighboring Russia. Amazingly, instead of dampening inflation, Ukraine's central bank is stoking it....
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2008
Last stand before Russia's next chance
WASHINGTON — On Wednesday through Friday, NATO will hold its biggest summit ever in Bucharest, the capital of its new member, Romania. Incredibly, NATO has invited its fiercest critic, Russian President Vladimir Putin, to attend. For the first time since 2002, he will. His presence is an embarrassment...
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2007
Unlike Yeltsin, Putin has luck on his side
WASHINGTON — Russian President Vladimir Putin's assertive foreign policy stance of recent years reflects the confidence that comes with a booming economy. In 1999, the year before Putin succeeded Boris Yeltsin as president, Russia's GDP was a paltry $200 billion. By last year, it had reached $1 trillion....

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?