This important report looks at the policies and strategies President Putin has developed in the field of energy and at the current climate for foreign investors in the sector. Russian energy policy is at an important watershed. A substantial increase in the output of oil & gas, has led some analysts to view Russia as a reliable, alternative to global dependence on energy supplies from the Gulf. On the other hand, there are concerns that current Russian energy strategy comes closer to the Venezuelan OCyenergy state-capitalismOCO model where foreign energy companies are welcome to invest, but only on MoscowOCOs terms and in partnership with a state-controlled national energy company. How are these strategies unfolding and what are the lessons for private sector investors?"
Providing an in-depth review of Russia's key economic policies, this book is the first systematic study of the political economy of oil windfalls in Putin's Russia.
"Media and public discussion tends to understand Russian politics as a direct reflection of Vladimir Putin's seeming omnipotence or Russia's unique history and culture. Yet Russia is remarkably similar to other autocracies -- and recognizing this illuminates the inherent limits to Putin's power. Weak Strongman challenges the conventional wisdom about Putin's Russia, highlighting the difficult trade-offs that confront the Kremlin on issues ranging from election fraud and repression to propaganda and foreign policy. Drawing on three decades of his own on-the-ground experience and research as well as insights from a new generation of social scientists that have received little attention outside academia, Timothy Frye reveals how much we overlook about today's Russia when we focus solely on Putin or Russian exceptionalism. Frye brings a new understanding to a host of crucial questions: How popular is Putin? Is Russian propaganda effective? Why are relations with the West so fraught? Can Russian cyber warriors really swing foreign elections? In answering these and other questions, Frye offers a highly accessible reassessment of Russian politics that highlights the challenges of governing Russia and the nature of modern autocracy. Rich in personal anecdotes and cutting-edge social science, Weak Strongman offers the best evidence available about how Russia actually works"--
In the tradition of Hedrick Smith's The Russians, Robert G. Kaiser's Russia: The People and the Power, and David Remnick's Lenin's Tomb comes an eloquent and eye-opening chronicle of Vladimir Putin's Russia, from this generation's leading Moscow correspondents. With the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia launched itself on a fitful transition to Western-style democracy. But a decade later, Boris Yeltsin's handpicked successor, Vladimir Putin, a childhood hooligan turned KGB officer who rose from nowhere determined to restore the order of the Soviet past, resolved to bring an end to the revolution. Kremlin Rising goes behind the scenes of contemporary Russia to reveal the culmination of Project Putin, the secret plot to reconsolidate power in the Kremlin. During their four years as Moscow bureau chiefs for The Washington Post, Peter Baker and Susan Glasser witnessed firsthand the methodical campaign to reverse the post-Soviet revolution and transform Russia back into an authoritarian state. Their gripping narrative moves from the unlikely rise of Putin through the key moments of his tenure that re-centralized power into his hands, from his decision to take over Russia's only independent television network to the Moscow theater siege of 2002 to the "managed democracy" elections of 2003 and 2004 to the horrific slaughter of Beslan's schoolchildren in 2004, recounting a four-year period that has changed the direction of modern Russia. But the authors also go beyond the politics to draw a moving and vivid portrait of the Russian people they encountered -- both those who have prospered and those barely surviving -- and show how the political flux has shaped individual lives. Opening a window to a country on the brink, where behind the gleaming new shopping malls all things Soviet are chic again and even high school students wonder if Lenin was right after all, Kremlin Rising features the personal stories of Russians at all levels of society, including frightened army deserters, an imprisoned oil billionaire, Chechen villagers, a trendy Moscow restaurant king, a reluctant underwear salesman, and anguished AIDS patients in Siberia. With shrewd reporting and unprecedented access to Putin's insiders, Kremlin Rising offers both unsettling new revelations about Russia's leader and a compelling inside look at life in the land that he is building. As the first major book on Russia in years, it is an extraordinary contribution to our understanding of the country and promises to shape the debate about Russia, its uncertain future, and its relationship with the United States.
A gripping account of U.S.-Russian relations since the end of the Soviet Union The Limits of Partnership offers a riveting narrative on U.S.-Russian relations since the Soviet collapse and on the challenges ahead. It reflects the unique perspective of an insider who is also recognized as a leading expert on this troubled relationship. American presidents have repeatedly attempted to forge a strong and productive partnership only to be held hostage to the deep mistrust born of the Cold War. For the United States, Russia remains a priority because of its nuclear weapons arsenal, its strategic location bordering Europe and Asia, and its ability to support—or thwart—American interests. Why has it been so difficult to move the relationship forward? What are the prospects for doing so in the future? Is the effort doomed to fail again and again? Angela Stent served as an adviser on Russia under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and maintains close ties with key policymakers in both countries. Here, she argues that the same contentious issues—terrorism, missile defense, Iran, nuclear proliferation, Afghanistan, the former Soviet space, the greater Middle East—have been in every president's inbox, Democrat and Republican alike, since the collapse of the USSR. Stent vividly describes how Clinton and Bush sought inroads with Russia and staked much on their personal ties to Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin—only to leave office with relations at a low point—and how Barack Obama managed to restore ties only to see them undermined by a Putin regime resentful of American dominance and determined to restore Russia's great power status. The Limits of Partnership calls for a fundamental reassessment of the principles and practices that drive U.S.-Russian relations, and offers a path forward to meet the urgent challenges facing both countries.
The volume provides a retrospective analysis of Putin’s eight years as president between 2000 and 2008. An international group of leading specialists examine Putin’s leadership in an informed and balanced manner. The authors are drawn from Russia itself, as well as from Europe, America and Australasia. Coverage includes general analysis of the Putin presidency, the ideology underlying the thinking of the regime, issues of institutional development including coverage of parties, parliament and elections, developments in the federal system, corruption and changes in the configuration of the elite. The impact of energy on changes in political economy provides the background to an assessment of Russia’s re-emergence as a great power in international affairs, accompanied by analysis of the difficulties in Russia’s relations with its former Soviet neighbours and the European Union. The authors examine the interaction between power and policy, and draw some conclusions about the dynamics of Putin’s system of government and thus of the fate of Russia. This book was published as a special issue of Europe-Asia Studies.
Now thoroughly updated, this widely praised book provides a thoughtful and balanced examination of the development of Russian foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. This edition also places developments of the past two decades into the broader sweep of Russian history. Jeffrey Mankoff argues that Russia's more assertive behavior since Vladimir Putin became president in 2000 has resulted from both a deep-seated consensus among its elite about Russia's identity and interests as well as a favorable convergence of events—including the persistence of high energy prices and the check on U.S. power resulting from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Because these factors are the result of long-term trends, the author argues that there is little reason to expect that the election of Dmitry Medvedev will fundamentally alter Russian foreign policy behavior. Presenting an evenhanded treatment of controversial issues, Mankoff analyzes Russia's interactions with major global actors, including the United States, the European Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and China. Despite Moscow's often-harsh rhetoric and the deployment of Russian forces against Georgia in 2008, the author convincingly demonstrates that there is little reason to fear a return to a Cold War-like standoff with the West. Instead, he argues, today's Russia is more interested in restoring what its leaders consider to be its rightful place among the world's major powers rather than in directly challenging the West. Thoroughly researched and knowledgeable, this book will be invaluable for all readers interested in Russia.
This book provides an original and thoroughly academic analysis of the link between Russian energy and foreign policies in Eurasia, as well as offering an interpretation of Russia’s coherence on the international stage, seeking to understand Russia and explain its behaviour. The authors analyse both energy and foreign policies together, in order to better grasp their correlation and gain deeper understanding of broader geopolitical issues in Eurasia at a time when things could go either way—towards producers or towards consumers. Questioning the concept of ‘energy deterrence’ which aims to fuel uncertainty in Russia’s relations with its partners, as well as projecting its overall power on the international scene, this provocative volume seeks to stimulate debate on this very important issue. Assessing the weight that energy has in Russia’s foreign policy and in its pursuit of power on the international stage, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, energy politics, geopolitics and Russian and Central Asian Studies.
