... exchanges, the valuations of its major companies, its budget and its currency still move closely in line with commodity prices. And the government will be "constrained from all sides" in tackling this dependency by delicate issues including pension reform, military expenditure and the implementation of President Putin's pre-election spending promises, said Elina Rybakova, chief economist at Citibank in Russia. "There are no easy decisions left," she told reporters. "Only...

... young sector compared to Europe or North America, but in the past two or three years we've been seeing more and more interest," he said by telephone. The market profile is quite distinct. "If in Europe and North America typical customers are pensioners, here it is the new middle class — people in their 30s or 40s, usually looking for something they can do with the family," Yelashkin said. But it is not just the middle classes. He said his first customer was a high-ranking government...

... decrees immediately after his inauguration. Twelve years ago, those orders laid the foundation for his vertical power structure. This time around, they were dominated by a series of populist promises to spend billions of rubles on the defense industry, pensioners and on the millions of others who depend on government financing. Several elements of Putin's populism are reminiscent of the utopian Communist Party program under Nikita Khrushchev in 1961, when he promised that the final stage of communism...

... and Germany employed to overcome the crisis resulted instead in the economic collapse of Greece and Spain. The same fate may hit France as well. Someone must answer for what is happening. Seventy percent of the French people disapproved of Sarkozy's pension reforms, and the parliamentary majority that obediently supported the president's policy now finds itself in a direct confrontation with the public. Although the guillotine has been outlawed in the country, elections have not, and the presidential...

... higher rate could apply to the total cost of the property, or it may be a progressive scale. The ministry plans deductions in the form of the estimated value of a set number of square meters — which would apply to certain groups, like veterans or pensioners. The goal is to not increase the tax burden for the majority of property owners, sources said. A standard deduction could be 30 meters, and the number of dependent minor children could also affect the calculation. There are many different opinions...

... of millions today. About a fifth of young people in Western countries are unemployed. In Spain and Greece, about half are. They could stick around at home, perhaps eventually find work and then spend their careers paying for the previous generation's pensions, health care and debt. Or they could emigrate. It is hard to make a start in Brazil, Canada or Germany, but the alternative might be watching television in your parents' house for the next four years. Similarly, elderly Americans drowning in...

... produce more than half of the country's gross domestic product. Forty-one of the subjects received more in federal transfers in 2010 than the total of all profits minus losses earned by local enterprises. If you add the 32 million Russians who are pensioners, it is obvious why Russians have such a desire for a welfare state. In most polls on the subject, Russians consistently place high values on the right to free education, health care and support for the elderly and sick. If it wants to end up...

... Union. An all-out attack on corruption is impossible until a real democratic breakthrough takes place. Major privatization of state corporations is unlikely as long as all of Putin's appointments still head these companies and stock prices are low. Pension reform has to wait for a while. In the end, while political uncertainty has increased, political instability can be good for reform. Anders Åslund is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. 178245

... The event began similarly to an opposition march and rally held Feb. 4 on the same route, with participants gathering around 3 p.m. at Kaluzhskaya Ploshchad outside Oktyabrskaya metro station. Demonstrators who included parents with young children and pensioners passed through 14 metal detectors arrayed at the south end of Ulitsa Bolshaya Yakimanka. Also on hand were opposition leaders Udaltsov, Navalny, Boris Nemtsov, and Yevgenia Chirikova, as well as contingents of nationalist activists and activists...

... central regions' representatives met last week at the Visit Russia 2012 forum in Yaroslavl with the aim of banding together to draw in more tourists. "In the European Union as well as in the other countries of the world, there is a growing number of pensioners who have a lot of free time and want to travel," said Yevgeny Pisarevsky, deputy head of the Federal Tourism Agency . "I think that water tourism is exactly the kind of tourism that would be perfect for this category of people."...

... open borders, a capable labor force and an adequate supply chain for supporting industry services. A more realistic hope is that the Russian authorities, having set a very high bar for success, at least manage to accomplish credible reform of Russia's pension and savings industry. This would eventually get you long-term domestic capital. What I call the "Big Money." And Big Money has the clout to help nudge you toward rule of law. I'd like to think that I will live long enough to see that...