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December 23, 2024
 

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Sergei Guriev
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 3, 2023
The return of the end of history
Without political checks and balances, free media and an independent civil society, autocrats do not receive the feedback needed to make wise and competent decisions.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2021
What's behind the greening of the Kremlin?
President Vladimir Putin recently announced Russia aims to become carbon neutral by 2060 — 10 years after the United States and the European Union but at the same time as China.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2017
Pitfalls of strongman populism
Democratically adopted policies have more staying power than those imposed by autocrats.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2016
Russia may be preparing a privatization fire sale
Faced with a rapidly deteriorating fiscal position, Russia's government has announced that it will privatize major state-owned firms, but institutional reforms are needed first.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2015
Russia's indefensible budget
Vladimir Putin is playing with dynamite if he thinks Russia can maintain its military spending amid low global oil prices.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2014
Economic stakes for Putin
Regardless of the West's response to the Crimean crisis, the economic damage to Russia will be vast. First, there are the direct costs of military operations and of supporting the Crimean regime. Then there are the costs related to the impact of sanctions on trade and investment.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 18, 2013
Politics explain Russia's stagnation
For Russia's political elite, a big piece of a shrinking economic pie is preferable to no piece of a growing one.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2013
The battle for Moscow will shape Russia's future
Win or lose, Alexei Navalny's campaign in the Moscow mayoral election will have a lasting impact on Russia's democratic future.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2012
Russia's inevitable democratization
Twenty years ago, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, the Soviet Union ended, and Russia began an imperfect transition to democratic capitalism — a transition that has proven to be far more difficult than expected.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2011
Medvedev's purge of the Kremlin chairmen
MOSCOW — In recent days, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has moved against some of the most powerful men in the Kremlin, including Igor Sechin, a deputy prime minister who is perhaps the closest figure to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin — and who is also the chairman of Rosneft, Russia's largest...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 26, 2011
Conscripted prisoners of the Russian Army
MOSCOW — Some of the most interesting artifacts of the Soviet Union in Russia are the holidays that continue to be celebrated, almost two decades after the fall of communism. On Feb. 23, Russians celebrated the "Day of the Defender of the Fatherland," a rough equivalent of Father's Day but with a militaristic...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2010
That 70s show in Russia
MOSCOW — Can Russia escape the "resource curse" implied by high oil prices, or will it succumb to what we call a "70-80" scenario? That is the question confronting Russians today, and we fear that their fate will be the latter: If oil prices remain at $70 to $80 per barrel, Russia is likely to relive...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2009
Can Russia's economy be saved?
MOSCOW — Russia's economy is collapsing, but the situation could be worse. The economic crisis has finally forced the government to adopt sensible policies, thereby staving off disaster — at least for now.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2008
The Russians are coming — loaded with cash
MOSCOW — Russia's government is sitting on a giant pile of cash that it plans to invest in foreign assets. The glimpse of its economic muscle was revealed when the prime minister of Iceland announced that Russia may come with about $5 billion to save its troubled economy. Who could have thought that,...
Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
Honda and Nissan consider mutual production of vehicles, report says
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2023.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

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