A new report from ECFR on Russia makes startlingly depressing reading:
- The economic crisis has exposed a governance crisis inside Russia: even Putin now admits that as much as 80% of Kremlin orders have been ignored in the regions. Instead of modernising, Russia in 2010 was as corrupt as Papua New Guinea, had the property rights of Kenya and was as competitive as Sri Lanka.
- The crisis has also prompted a foreign policy rethink inside Russia: Russia is now aiming for a low cost sphere of influence in the post-Soviet space and is increasingly nervous about China.
The report claims that, having tried to project itself as an equal to Brazil, India and China, Russia is now entering a “post-BRIC” phase defined by deep pessimism about its future prospects. The report repays very close reading.
