... similar to the rate that the Asian tigers grew when they were at a similar level of development. Needless to say, the Soviet Union never came close to these growth rates. The second lesson from this period is the large role that political and legal institutions played in the growth, particularly those that protected property rights and enforced contractual obligations. These institutions are very difficult to build, especially if they have no political support. That is why reformers tried to create...

... of the Russian Students Union told The Moscow Times on Wednesday. Artyom Khromov said complaints had been lodged throughout the month by students from Moscow State University, the Russian State Humanitarian University, the National Nuclear Research Institute and other universities in Moscow and the regions. According to rectors of some universities, which Khromov refused to name for ethical reasons, the delays stemmed from the failure of the federal treasury to deal with the documents on time. ...

Supplies of milling wheat available for export from the Southern Federal District declined, the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies said Tuesday. "We see a stormy price increase because grain resources are becoming limited in the south," said Oleg Sukhanov, the institute's grain analyst. "This forced exporters to search for...

... work with investments: analysts, financial advisers, and risk and portfolio managers," said Maria Safronova, a recruitment manager at Flex. In October 2009, Moscow's Higher School of Economics signed a partnership agreement with the U.S.-based CFA Institute, beginning its training course for the qualification. This is currently the only certified CFA training course in Russia, according to the CFA Institute website. The lengthy program, including 200 hours of Saturday classes from October to May...

... economy, and the government played an important role by ensuring macroeconomic stability, maintaining a balanced budget and using oil revenues to create significant foreign-currency reserves. Second, a market economy needs strong political and legal institutions to protect property rights and competition. Such institutions are difficult to build from scratch, and doing so is not merely a technocratic task. It requires political change. Contrary to popular belief, Russia's reformers understood this...

....9 million tons from the start of the marketing season on July 1 to the end of 2011. Russia's exports of grain, beans and peas were 17.9 million tons from the start of the marketing season on July 1 to the end of 2011, the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies said. Grain shipments exceeded 17.5 million tons, including 14.5 million tons of wheat, more than 2 million tons of barley and 700,000 tons of corn. Exports of legumes exceeded 390,000 tons, the institute, known...

Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko announced that the government has concluded agreements with oil and electricity producers to institute a price freeze on gas and electricity at December levels, despite a rise in oil tariffs. Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko announced that the government has concluded agreements with oil and electricity producers to institute a price freeze on...

... bureaucracy; improved human rights guarantees; and the free expression of opinion through popular demonstrations. In essence, it will mark the beginning of an irreversible process of endorsing European values and standards, and of opening up public institutions to civil society. It is expected that the stance of PACE will be very determined and resolute. The outcome of the elections, the investigation into the blatant acts of what has been described as "amateurish" electoral fraud, carried...

... laid out his economic vision in the third of a weekly series of articles titled "Ideas for Russia" on Monday and called for a smaller state presence in business, a fight against corruption, institutional reform and a drive to wean Russia off its oil dependency. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin laid out his economic vision in the third of a weekly series of articles titled "Ideas for Russia" on Monday and called for a smaller...

... production from other sources such as coal. Russia says it will give Ukraine a discount only if Gazprom gets a stake in its transit pipeline network, something Kiev is reluctant to allow for fears of losing leverage over its partner. The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce will examine in June the dispute between the Lithuanian government and Gazprom, which together with Germany's E.On Ruhrgas is a shareholder in Lithuanian gas utility Lietuvos Dujos, Interfax reported Wednesday...

... whose name is officially written in all capital letters at her insistence. While compiling a dissertation titled "Finding Work for Theater Workers in Times of Transition," she conducted a poll to learn how often graduates of Moscow's theater institutes were aided by their institutions during job searches. "The vast majority said 'nothing, no meetings, no help, no advice,'" Avimskaya states almost indignantly. Upon arriving in St. Petersburg she conducted more research and learned...

Russia may build a space probe to replace the Fobos-Grunt device that plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month, Space Research Institute head Lev Zeleny said Wednesday. Russia may build a space probe to replace the Fobos-Grunt device that plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month, Space Research Institute head Lev Zeleny said Wednesday, RIA-Novosti reported. The...

... infrastructure and coast guards to help stranded seafarers. Its unrivaled fleet of nuclear icebreakers is a financial drain whether or not they are in use since the reactors need to remain constantly on, Arild Moe, deputy head of Norway's Fridtjof Nansen Institute, told Reuters. "The waterway is considered an important part of national transport infrastructure, as well as a manifestation of Russian interests in the Arctic," Moe said. "The crucial issue is financing." The Kremlin plans...

... and enforcement of professional business education standards, after which the government will give up its role as regulator of this area, said Sergei Myasoyedov, dean of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration's Institute of Business and Business Administration. Representatives of Russia's largest business associations will be included in the consortium so as not to favor the interests of any certain market players, Myasoyedov said. Market's Future Murky Revisions...

... and households will be uncompetitive, Birulin said. Russia's pig-breeding industry may face losses of at least 20 billion rubles ($662 million) under the terms of the country's WTO membership, he said. The conference was organized by the Moscow-based Institute for Agricultural Market Studies. The WTO in December accepted Russia as a member, ushering in the last major economy after more than 18 years of negotiations. Russia is considering a protective grain export duty to put a brake on record exports...

... have already reached financial closing (M-1 and M-10 roads and Pulkovo Airport), and a few more are under way. These pilot projects are proving that the interest from international and Russian construction companies and operators, as well as financial institutions, in long-term investment in Russian PPP projects is there. Alexander Yerofeyev Partner, CIS Head of Project Finance and Infrastructure Ernst & Young Public-Private Partnership (PPP) infrastructure development projects in Russia are no...

... foreign-controlled in the 1990s," Eric Kraus, a Moscow-based hedge fund manager told The Moscow Times. "The government has been encouraging the creation of two giant banking poles, VTB and Sberbank, to claw the business back from Western institutions," he said. "Troika was widely seen as a very Western institution." Kraus added that while big-name foreign investment banks would retain their share of big deals, mid-tier Russian operations including Renaissance Capital,...

... commission members, government officials and managers at state organizations. Bringing them to justice will establish the principle that ordinary citizens and officials are accountable before the law and must answer for their crimes. It will also help institute much-needed reforms to improve the transparency and accountability of elections. The fourth demand calls for the adoption of new legislation concerning political parties by the end of February 2012. During President Dmitry Medvedev's December...

... “The danger is that religion then becomes mainly a way to divide people rather than a means of social capital.” Sitting next to Aksyuchits at the round table, Chaplin stressed that while the Orthodox Church remains the most powerful nonpolitical institution in the country, it will continue to keep its distance from Christian political organizations. But he admitted that he recently facilitated contacts with emerging political leaders, such as Navalny, a leading figure in the protest movement...

... not only to the United States, but also to other countries notably Britain that had Americanized their financial system. The problem, Steinbrück argued, lay in overreliance on highly complex financial instruments, propagated by globalized U.S. institutions. The financial crisis is above all an American problem, Steinbrück said. The other G7 financial ministers in continental Europe share this opinion." Criticism of the United States did not stop there. Steinbrück's successor...