Question

What are some economic and social problems facing the post-Soviet Russian Federation

Answer 1

Russia is the sixth largest economy in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, and a member of G8, G20 and UN Security Council.

However, there are three key uncertainiities/problems hanging over Russia:

i) Weak institutions

There is high level of corruption in the country, resulting in inefficiency in Government. According to Transparency International, Russian corruption levels are higher than even Togo or Uganda.

ii) Social Cohesion

Russia faces lack of trust within the society and towards institutions and decision makers. Lack of trust leads to reduced consumption and capital flight, thus undermining economic development in the country.

iii) Correlation between GDP and oil

The Russian economy relies heavily on its energy sector for Economic development, which has a tight correlation between oil prices and the country's GDP, thus risking Russia's future