49015 - Economy and Regional Policies in Russia

Learning outcomes

Student is expected to have a deep knowledge of the transformation of Russian economy and regional policy since disintegration of the USSR in 1991, as well as to increase their ability in analysing future trends in development of national economy and regional policy of Russian Federation in mid-term perspective.

Course contents

Course Requirements. Students will be evaluated on the basis of:

1) Daily preparation and class discussions. Although it is principally a course of lectures, students are expected to be prepared to discuss the readings analytically during all lectures of the course;

2) A research projects (paper up to 15 pages and a power-point presentation of main findings) should be sent by e-mail to the lecturer at the date of the final class. Topic of each of research projects should be discussed with the lecturer and is based on one of the lectures of the course;

3) Multiple-choice test (duing the final class of the course);

4) A written take-home exam consists of two parts. One of them will be based on the knowledge of course’ material and obligatory readings (up to 4 pages), and second will be a general topic on Russian economy and/or regional policies (up to 3 page essay). The topics will be distributed at the final class of the course and the deadline for sending exam answers to professor is 30 days. 

3) Multiple-choice test;

4) A written take-home exam consists of two parts. One of them will be based on the knowledge of course’ material and obligatory readings (up to 4 pages), and second will be a general topic on Russian economy and/or regional policies (up to 5 page essay).

 

The course of lectures dealing with transformation of Russian economy and regional policy since disintegration of the USSR in 1991, as well as with analysis of future trends in development of national economy and regional policy of Russian Federation in mid-term perspective.

In first part of the course, lecturer gives a political economy’s analysis of debate about history, current state and future of Russian socio-economic system and characteristics of transformation of national economy from central planning system to market-based system nowadays. Key sectors of Russian economy (energy, telecom, defense industry, as well as macroeconomic policy, monetary policy, financial markets), and key economic partner of Russia in world economy (the European Union, Commonwealth of Independent States, USA and Pacific Rim countries) will be discussed.

Second part of the course is devoted to establishment and functioning of current structure of interregional relations inside Russia between “federal center” and 85 regions. This structure has both elements of federal state, as well as a unitary state under strong control economic and political life by the Presidential Administration and Government of Russia. Several case-studies, including St.Petersburg and Kaliningrad region, will give students better understanding of the structure under analysis during second part of the course.

 

Day 1. Introduction to the class, explanation of the requirements.

Selection of topics for research papers and power-point presentations. Explanation of questions for written exam. Russian and foreign research centers (think-tanks), studying Russian economy, foreign economic relations and regional politics.

Day 1 and 2. Russian economy in historical perspective

Was Peter the Great right? Could Russia become part of political and economic system of Europe without radical transformation of its political and economic system in early XVIII century? Was it too late? What were main stages of development of Russia/Soviet economy? How these stages have influenced foreign and regional policies of Russian state?

Obligatory readings:

Anders Aslund and Andrew Kuchins. The Russia Balance Sheet. PIIE & CSIS. April 2009. Introduction. Chapter 1: Russia’s Historical Roots. P. 1-23. (digital folder of the course)

Aron, Leon. Everything You Think You Know About the Collapse of the Soviet Union Is Wrong [http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/06/20/everything_you_think_you_know_about_the_collapse_of_the_soviet_union_is_wrong] . In: Foreign Policy, July/August 2011. (digital folder of the course)

Fischer, Stanley. Russia and the Soviet Union then and now. NBER Working paper # 4077, May 1992. (digital folder of the course)

Additional readings:

Javeline, Debra & Sarah Lindemann-Komarova. A Balanced Assessment of Russian Civil Society. In: Journal of International Affairs, Spring/Summer 2010, Vol. 63, No. 2. P. 171-188.

Gaidar, Yegor. Collapse of an Empire: Lessons for Modern Russia. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2009. Chapter IV: Cracks in the Foundation: The Soviet Union in the Early 1980s, Chapter VI: Development of the Crisis in the Socialist System. P. 71-200.

Lo, Bobo. 2018. Chutzpah and realism. Vladimir Putin and the making of Russian Foreign Policy. IFRI: Russia/NIS Center.

Millar, James R. Putin and the economy. In: Ed. by Dale R. Herspring. Putin’s Russia: Past Imperfect, Future Uncertain. Rowman&Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2005. P. 121-140.

Tkachenko, Stanislav. Searching Russia’s economic past for secrets of growth. Russia beyond the Headlines. December 31, 2013. Permanent address of the article: http://rbth.ru/business/2013/12/31/searching_russias_economic_past_for_secrets_of_growth_33045.html

Day 3. Economic and structural reform in Russia since 1991

Were Boris Yeltsin and Yegor Gaidar right? Can Russia and other republics of the Former USSR adopt democracy, open markets and cooperate closely with the industrial countries of the “North” to manage the world economy? Can the world economy be managed with all these new players?

Obligatory readings:

Aslund, Anders. Russia’s Capitalist Revolution. Washington: PIIE, 2007. Chapter 3: Revolution. P. 85-127. (digital folder of the course)

Anders Aslund and Andrew Kuchins. The Russia Balance Sheet. PIIE & CSIS. April 2009. Chapter 3: Russia’s Economic Revival: Past Recovery, Future Challenges. P. 39-55. (digital folder of the course)

Grigoryev, Leonid. 2016. Russia in the System of Global Economic Relations. Strategic Analysis, Vol. 40, No. 6, pp. 498-512.

Shleifer, Andrei, Daniel Treisman. A Normal Country. NBER Working Paper # 10057, October 2003. http://www.nber.org/papers/w10057 . (digital folder of the course)

Sutela, Peka. Russia’s Economic prospects. Carnegie Endowment, March 28, 2011. (digital folder of the course)

Tkachenko, Stanislav. What can we expect from Russian economy in 2016? Russia Direct, Vol. 4, December 2015 – January 2016, p. 4-9. (digital folder of the course)

Additional readings:

Aslund, Anders & Andrew Kuchins. Russia: The Balance Sheet. Peterson Institute for International Economics: Washington, D.C., 2009

Andrew Kuchins and Richard Weitz. Russia’s Place in an Unsettled Order - Calculations in the Kremlin. The Stanley Foundation, Working paper, November 2008. (digital folder of the course)

Remington, Thomas. 10 explanations for Russia’s coming fiscal squeeze. The Washington Post, February 13, 2014. Permanent address of the article is: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/02/13/10-explanations-for-russias-coming-fiscal-squeeze/The State of the Russian Economy. Russian Analytical Digest, # 38 , April 2nd, 2008. Available at: http://www.res.ethz.ch/analysis/rad/details.cfm?lng=en&id=49890

Tkachenko, Stanislav. Russian ruble roller coaster journey. Russia Direct, August 3, 2015. Available at: http://www.russia-direct.org/opinion/russian-ruble-roller-coaster-journey

Tkachenko, Stanislav. 2016. How the Russian economy changed in 2016. RussiaDirect, December 29^th, 2016. Available at: http://www.russia-direct.org/opinion/how-russian-economy-changed-2016

Day 4. Financial-industrial groups and FDI. Small and medium enterprises in Russian economy

Due to the size of country’s territory and painful transformation of national economy, should Russian government protect interests of the largest companies, like GAZPROM or ROSNEFT, or develop the SME sector as the highest priority for economic policy? Who should run the Trans Siberian Railway – private company or public authority?

Obligatory readings:

Kazun, Anton. 2015. Violent Corporate Raiding in Russia: Preconditions and Protective Factors. Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization. Vol. 23 (4) Fall, p. 459-484. (digital folder of the course)

Liuhto, Kari, Marika Heikkilä & Eini Laaksonen. Political risk for foreign firms in the Western CIS An analysis on Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. Electronic Publications of Pan-European Institute 18/2009. (digital folder of the course)

Russia 2010. Report on Transformation. VI Europe-Russia Forum. Eastern Institute, Warsaw, 2010. (digital folder of the course)

Tkachenko, Stanislav. 2014. What you need to know about Russia’s Innovative Economy? Russia Direct Quarterly Report. # 6. September 2014. P. 6-13.

Additional readings:

Hopf, Ted. 'Crime is Ours:' A Discursive History. Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore. January 2016. (digital folder of the course)

Guriev, Sergei and Andrei Rachinsky. The Role of Oligarchs in Russian Capitalism. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 19, No. 1, Winter 2005, p. 131-150. (digital folder of the course)

Rutland, Peter. The Oligarchs and Economic Development. In: Ed. by Stephen K. Wegren and Dale R. Herspring. After Putin’s Russia: past Imperfect, Future Uncertain. Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2009. P.159-182.

Shevtsova, Lilia. Russia – Lost in Transition. The Yeltsin and Putin Legacies. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.2007. 118-148.

Tuminez, Astrid S. (2000). Hobbling Along: Russian Banking Reform [http://www.csis.org/ruseura/ponars/policymemos/pm_0105.pdf]. CSIS Policy memo. http://www.csis.org/ruseura/ponars/policymemos/pm_0105.pdf

Day 5. Foreign economic policy of Russian Federation. Russia’s membership in WTO

When a country should integrate into the world economy: at the start of the process of market economy reforms or at the later stages of the process? Why membership at the WTO is important both for “small open economies”, like Sweden, and for major world economy, like USA?

Obligatory readings:

Foreign Trade and Investment Climate. . Russian Analytical Digest, # 111, April 2, 2012. (digital folder of the course)

Russia and WTO Accession. Russian Analytical Digest, # 24, July 3, 2007. Available at: http://www.res.ethz.ch/analysis/rad/details.cfm?lng=en&id=32675

Tarr, David & Natalya Volchkova. Foreign Economic Policy at Cross-Roads. In: Anders Åslund, Sergei Guriev [http://www.piie.com/publications/author_bio.cfm?author_id=695] and Andrew Kuchins [http://www.piie.com/staff/author_bio.cfm?author_id=566] . Russia after the Global Economic Crisis. PIIE-CSIS, May 2010. (digital folder of the course)

Tkachenko, Stanislav. 2018. The Political Economy of Russian Information & Communication Technologies. PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo No. 533. June. http://www.ponarseurasia.org/sites/default/files/policy-memos-pdf/Pepm533_Tkachenko_June2018.pdf

Additional readings:

Anders Aslund and Andrew Kuchins. The Russia Balance Sheet. PIIE & CSIS. April 2009. Chapter 5: International Economic Integration, Trade policy, and Investment. P. 69-82.

Liuhto, Kari. Genesis of Economic Nationalism in Russia. Electronic publications of the Pan-European Institute 2008-2009, # 3/2008. ISSN 1795-5076. www.tse.fi/pei

Day 6. EU-Russia economic relations. Energy Dialog

Energy prices are extremely high for several years already. What should be the essence for Russia-EU Energy Dialog? Pipe-lines, protection of EU investments, geography of transit routes? If there is a chance for single EU position in the Dialog?

Obligatory readings:

Anders Aslund and Andrew Kuchins. The Russia Balance Sheet. PIIE & CSIS. April 2009. Chapter 4: Policy on Oil and Gas. P. 57-68. (digital folder of the course)

Liuhto, Kari. Energy in Russian Foreign Policy. Electronic Publications of Pan-European Institute 10/2010. (digital folder of the course)

Pursiainen, Christer. Russia between integration and protectionism: International road transport, ports, and the forestry sector. Nordregio Working Paper 2007:2. Stokckholm, Sweden. (digital folder of the course)

Tkachenko, Stanislav. Actors in Russia’s Energy Policy towards the EU. In: Ed. by Pami Aalto.The EU-Russian energy dialogue: Europe’s future energy security. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008. P. 163-192.

Additional readings:

EU Energy Security and Solidarity Action Plan: 2^nd Strategic Energy Review. MEMO/08/703. Brussels, November 13^th, 2008.

Gomart, Thomas. Europe in Russian Foreign Policy: Important but mo longer Pivotal. IFRI: Russia/NIS Centre, May 2010. (digital folder of the course)

Rahr, Alexander. Germany and Russia: Special Relationship. Washington Quarterly, Spring 2007. Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 137-145. (digital folder of the course)

Russia’s New Energy Frontiers. Russian Analytical Digest, # 33, January 22, 2008. Available at: http://www.res.ethz.ch/analysis/rad/details.cfm?lng=en&id=46479

Russian Federation. Country Strategy Paper 2007-2013. European Commission. 2006.

Day 7. Russian regions - overview

Some Russian regions are developing their economies quicker then others. What should do federal government: assist leaders or losers? Integrate leaders into the world economy via investments and trade? Or provide economic assistance to regions like Chechnya? Please, remember that resources of any government are limited!

Obligatory readings:

Ledeneva, Alena, Stanislav Shekshnia. Doing Business in Russian Regions: Informal Practices and Anti-Corruption Strategies. IFRI: Russia/NIS Centre, March 2011. (digital folder of the course)

Petrov, Nikolai & Darrell Slider. The Regions under Putin and After. In: Ed. by Stephen K. Wegren and Dale R. Herspring. After Putin’s Russia: past Imperfect, Future Uncertain. Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2009. P. 59-82.

Starodubtsev, Andrey. Federalism and Regional Policy in Contemporary Russia. Routledge: 2018.

Additional readings:

Alexandrov, Oleg B., and Andrey S. Makarychev. On the Way to Globalization: Administrative and Networking Strategies of Russia’s Regions. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. Working Paper no. 19, 2002. Available at http://cms.isn.ch/public/docs/doc_444_290_en.pdf

Solnik, Steve. Putin and the Provinces. CSIS Policy Memo No. 115. Available at: http://www.csis.org/ruseura/ponars/policymemos/pm_0115.pdf

Wallander, Celeste. Russian Transimperialism and its Implications. Washington Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 2, Spring 2007. P. 107-22. (digital folder of the course)

Смирнягин Л.В., Бусыгина И.М. Российский федерализм. Electronic publications of the Institute of Europe of Russian Academy of Sciences. (digital folder of the course)

Day 8. North-Western Russia and European Union: cooperation and conflicts

If architecture of Russian regional development is close to French economy (economically strong capital and weak regions) or to American economy (economically weak capital but strong regions)? Is it possible for Russia to have a capital (Moscow) as the dominant economic center or national government should pay more attention to development of removed regions as well? Why proximity to the European Union is so important to North-Western Federal District of Russian Federation?

Obligatory readings:

Petrov, Nikolay. 2005. The Implications of Centre-Region Politics for Russia’s North-west Border Regions. In: Ed. by Oksana Antonenko and Kathryn Pinnick. Russia and the European Union: Prospects for a new Relationship. Routledge and IISS: London. P. 133-154.

Tkachenko S. Regionalization of Russian Foreign Policy: The Case of St.Petersburg. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. Working Paper no. 21, 2002. Available at http://cms.isn.ch/public/docs/doc_448_290_en.pdf

Tkachenko, Stanislav. 2005. The Paradiplomacy of St.Petersburg. In: ed. by Christopher S. Browning. Remaking Europe in the Margins: Northern Europe after the Enlargements. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. P. 161-180.

Additional readings:

Kaartemo, Valterri, Nikita Lisitsyn & Kaisa-Kerttu Peltola Innovation structure in St.Petersburg – Attractiveness from the Finnish managerial perspective. Electronic publications of the Pan-European Institute 2008, # 14/2009. ISSN 1795-5076. www.tse.fi/pei

Liuhto, Kari. Special Economic Zones in Russia – What do the zones offer for foreign firms? Electronic Publications of Pan-European Institute 2/2009 www.tse.fi/pei (digital folder of the course)

Tkachenko Stanislav and Tkachenko Dmitry. Progress of the Special Economic Zones in North-West Russia. Baltic Rim Economies. Bimonthly Review. June 2010. Expert article 535. P. 28. www.tse.fi/pei (digital folder of the course)

Vandoren, Paul. Regional cooperation, that works: The EU’s Northern Dimension Policy. In: Baltic Rim Economies, No. 1, February 27^th, 2009. P. 13. www.tse.fi/pei

Day 9. Case study: Kaliningrad region’s problem in EU-Russia relations. Kaliningrad and EU enlargement.

What is more important for a government: sovereignty and territorial integrity or competitiveness and economic prosperity? If the end of the Cold War has changed priorities in this sphere? Should Kaliningrad have its own strategy for integration into the economic and monetary union of the EU, enjoy visa-free regime and parallel circulation of Russian ruble and Euro?

Obligatory readings:

Klemeshev, Andrey and Gennady Fedorov. A Regional Strategy for Kaliningrad. (as well as articles of Hans Jeppson, Natalia Smorodinskaya) In: Ed. by Oksana Antonenko and Kathryn Pinnick. Russia and the European Union: Prospects for a new Relationship. Routledge and IISS: London, 2005. P. 243-281.

Additional readings:

Bort, E. Illegal Migration and Cross-Border Crime: Challenges at the Eastern Frontier of the European Union. San Domenico: Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies. EUI Working Paper (RSC no. 2000/9), 2000.

Commission of the European Communities. The EU and Kaliningrad. Communication from the Commission to the Council. COM (2001) 26, final. Brussels, 17 January 2001.

Day 10. Test: Multiple Choice. Submission of research projects. Students will receive from professor topics for take-home exam (two essays, 5 pages each)

At this meeting students will present printed copies of their research papers.

Readings/Bibliography

General readings for the course include:

1. The Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation. Approved by Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, on 18 February 2013
2. Anders Åslund [http://www.piie.com/staff/author_bio.cfm?author_id=455] . Russia's Capitalist Revolution: Why Market Reform Succeeded and Democracy Failed. Washington, PIIE, 2007.
3. Anders Åslund, Sergei Guriev [http://www.piie.com/publications/author_bio.cfm?author_id=695] and Andrew Kuchins [http://www.piie.com/staff/author_bio.cfm?author_id=566] . Russia after the Global Economic Crisis. PIIE-CSIS, May 2010. Text of the book can be fount at: http://bookstore.piie.com/book-store//4976.html [http://bookstore.piie.com/book-store/4976.html]
4. Gaidar, Yegor. Collapse of an Empire: Lessons for Modern Russia. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2009.
5. Ed. by Stephen K. Wegren and Dale R. Herspring. After Putin’s Russia: past Imperfect, Future Uncertain. Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2009.

Teaching methods

This class combines lectures and discussions, based on reading of literature, proposed by the lecturer. Lectures and discussions in a seminar style are interrelated. The lectures and readings cover some basic points, but lectures usually are not directly on the readings. Power-point presentations will be provided for all lectures. The discussions focus specifically on the readings.

Assessment methods

You may get 30 points at the course:

Multiple choice – maximum 7 points

Research project – maximum 9 points

Exam essays (take-home, 30 days for writing two essays) – maximum 14 points

 

The outcome of the module will be averaged to that of the other module composing the integrated course in order to determine the final grade.

Teaching tools

Lectures, Power-point presentations, case-studies, discussions on literature from “obligatory readings” list

Office hours

See the website of Stanislav Tkachenko