Talk:Economy of Russia
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[edit] Trade data is wrong
Export: $162.5 bln, Import: $92.91 bln
Right data (Central Bank of the RF): Export: $183.5 bln, Import: $96,3 bln
[edit] ***
I've added a new section on the post-Communist transition, focusing on structural adjustment refroms, macroeconomic stabilization, and privitization. Shock therapy and the Washington Consensus are controversial subjects too. I'd appreciate if someone could look over that section.
This figure of GDP per capita (purchasing power parity) is wrong:
It would also be higher than of most central european countries, and that's clearly absurd. I'm replacing it with saner value 4200 unless somebody has better estimates. Taw 14:09 21 May 2003 (UTC)
[edit] Commonwealth of Independent States
There needs to be a section on this, I'll look at how to fit it in and structure it, though if anyone else has the time to I'd be grateful. Grunners 00:27, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)
[edit] Some work needed
With some work, this could be a pretty good article. Let's get it up to featured status like Economy of Africa. I'll do some work, trimming it down where needed, adding Wikilinks, adding an info-box (like in Economy of Africa), and adding some pictures. 172 10:36, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)
[edit] Rule of law
an economy operating on the basis of market forces, private property and the rule of law.
- You wish.--Jerryseinfeld 00:58, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)
dreams are free Libertas
[edit] Uncovered topics
Some of the most important problems left uncovered here.
- Criminalisation of Russian economics. Most businesses pay money to local mafias for "protection". This is called "krysha" (roof). Sometimes, bandits kill businessmen or their relatives or demand arbitrarily high sums of money which they unable to pay. In such circumstances, it is very hard to create a normal business.
- Corruption. It is impossible to run business in Russia without bribing officials.
If Western sovetologists don't know abour these problems or ignore them, their articles don't worth a paper on which they are printed.
Another uncovered topics
- No discussion for Putin's plan for doubling of GDP. It is not even mentioned.
- No annual statistics for GDP (nominal or PPP). Only GDP for 2004 is given.
--Urod 04:33, 14 September 2005 (UTC)
[edit] GDP recovery 1999-2005
Given strong growth from 1999-2005, has Russian GDP recovered to its pre-collapse peak? What is the index of current Russian GDP, if pre-collapse peak is given to =100?
- Yes, it has recovered just this year(2007). Now the GDP is higher than in Soviet Union in 1990.
-A.Rod
[edit] Someone needs to update the article because it is way old
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This article or section needs to be updated. Please update the article to reflect recent events / newly available information, and remove this template when finished. |
Russia has hade a boom in the economic sector since 2003 but these article kinda stops around 2000 Someone should type that 2004 was a very good year for Russia and 2005 was even better
- Yes, I was about to say the same thing. The article's roughly three years out of date, and the last three years have been the best in the post-Soviet era. Palefire 07:04, 6 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] POV and updates
The section "Economic reform in the 1990s" is very long and sounds like it may have been copied from a Library of Congress article (which is in the public domain). It should probably be audited for POV by someone familiar with the recent economic history of Russia. I removed this particularly non-neutral paragraph:
- In mid-1996 the national government appeared to have achieved some degree of macroeconomic stability. However, longer-term stability depends on the ability of policy makers to withstand the inflationary pressures of demands for state subsidies and easier credits for failing enterprises and other special interests. (Chubais estimated that spending promises made during Yeltsin's campaign amounted to US$250 per voter, which if actually spent would approximately double the national budget deficit; most of Yeltsin's pledges seemingly were forgotten shortly after his reelection.)
This section also seems to only consider events up to 1996; it should really be more integrated with discussion of later events when assessing the "legacy" of reforms or putting them into a sort of hindsight perspective. -- Beland 16:57, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
The 1996-2006 section also needs to be updated with figures from recent years. -- Beland 17:20, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
Removing POV check. LOC text is within the realm of reasonable discourse on the subject. 172 | Talk 12:32, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Length and focus
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (January 2007) |
This article is really an economic history of Russia in the 1990s and 2000s. This is interesting and useful information, but other articles, such as Economy of the United States or Economy of the People's Republic of China separate detailed information on the structure of the economy, from the history. Given the length of this article, I think it might be a good idea to move much of the content to something like the "Economic history of Russia", and expand structural coverage here. It would be nice to have a brief summary of the last two decades of reform, for people that just want a quick introduction, and don't really care about the detailed play by play. -- Beland 17:16, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
- Perhaps the beginning of the article can contain a summary of the structure and performance of the Russian economy today. Such a section can be written along the lines of (say) the regular country reports put out by the Economist intelligence Unit. I disagree with the removal or shortening of content on the transition years, which one must understand if one is to be at all knowledgeable on Russia’s economy. 172 | Talk 22:20, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
- I agree with Beland. I have just read this article because I wanted to know about the economy of Russia but I instead came across the economic history of Russia which I did not want to know about at this time. I then came to the talk page to effectively say exactly what Beland has said. If there was a move to an Economic history of Russia article, I would support that action. This article should be primarily focussed on the current Russian economy, how it got to where it is makes for a separate article. I disagree with 172 completely in that it is not necessary to know what happened in the transition years to be able to understand the current economic picture. To understand the current political economy of Russia, it would be necessary to know what happened in the transition years but I would expect that an article on the economy would be focussed more tightly on the economy itself. MLA 08:33, 30 June 2006 (UTC)
- lets make a separate page to summarize the condition of the Russian economy in the transition period.
- I agree with Beland. I have just read this article because I wanted to know about the economy of Russia but I instead came across the economic history of Russia which I did not want to know about at this time. I then came to the talk page to effectively say exactly what Beland has said. If there was a move to an Economic history of Russia article, I would support that action. This article should be primarily focussed on the current Russian economy, how it got to where it is makes for a separate article. I disagree with 172 completely in that it is not necessary to know what happened in the transition years to be able to understand the current economic picture. To understand the current political economy of Russia, it would be necessary to know what happened in the transition years but I would expect that an article on the economy would be focussed more tightly on the economy itself. MLA 08:33, 30 June 2006 (UTC)
and this page should be about the current status.--Ifeldman84 16:17, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
Doesn't appear we managed to split. The article seems to have retained a primary focus on historic information rather than current a year since anyone raised the issue last. MLA 15:48, 11 September 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Budget incorrect
This line: The mafia remains a significant force in Russia. The drugs (narcotics) industry alone has a turnover of $8-9bn a year, compared to a state budget of 20bn. Yeah alright maybe mafia and drugs but state budget is: Revenues $176.7 billion (2005 est.) Expenses $125.6 billion (2005 est.) which is in summary table.
Any article on the economy must mention that even though the population is decreasing by 700,000 a year, the fact that income from natural resources are mostly rental and is unaffected by population size will bring an upward pressure to per capita income. For e.g. a decreasing population per se will not reduce per capita income (its mostly neutral), in Russia it will increase it. The other factor that must be mentioned is that while the size of the grey economy is roughly the same in most nations, it is larger in russia and so the economic size will be understated by 5% or so. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.226.9.245 (talk • contribs)
[edit] Minor comment
I love the fact that in the 'economic restructuring measures' section, someone has listed the essential/staple food items as 'bread, sugar, dairy products and... vodka.' I thought about removing it but a quick look at the history reveals its been there a long while, so it's staying. It might even be true...
OK, another comment, more serious this time... In the 'natural resources' section, Russia is given as the fourth largest fish producer. But then further down it is stated that 'Russia produces one quarter of all the world's fish'. These two statements are logically incompatible. If Russia is the fourth biggest producer, and produces one fourth, then the top four contries' production alone would add up to more than 100%. And what about all the other countries as well? One of these sentences is therefore wrong, but I'm dammed if I know which one... Thick as a Planck 18:06, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Divided in two?
I think that something must be mentioned about how the country is increasingly being divided in two. From the Moscow article: "These new Muscovites are attracted by the local economic growth, which contrasts to the stagnation or even decline in most of Russia as a result of sharp polarization of the country in recent years." Esn 22:06, 25 February 2007 (UTC)
- Actually, I dont think I can agree with you on that. Almost every region is growing economically, roads are being build, so is housing, and infrastructure is being improved. Yes, everything is happening quicker in Moscow, but there is no decline or stagnation. Before you change, you will need to provide concrete examples.
[edit] Population Below Porverty Line
I found a 2005 update for the figure provided by US Department of State, so I guess it is pretty accurate. Look: "In 2005, 7.8% of the population lived below the poverty line (with a subsistence wage of $94 per month), in contrast to 38.1% in 1998. However, the gap between rich and poor continues to widen at an unsustainable rate. " - US Department of State, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3183.htm 24.110.133.226 04:15, 3 May 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Outdated information
There is so much outdated information. For example, the first sentence stated that Russian economy is 1/2 that of Soviet Union. Well, that is outdated since March 2007, when Russian GDP surpassed Soviet economy of 1990. The are lot more examples like this, so I think that updating the article should be one of our priorities.
[edit] Problem in natural resources section
The section 'Natural resources' contains the claim that 'Russia is the world's fourth largest fish producer' and also 'Russia produces one quarter of the world's fish'. These two statements are logically incompatible, since it would mean the top four producers of fish make more than 100%, without even accounting for all the other countries. One of these statements must, therefore, be wrong. But I'm not sure which.
[edit] Outdated
Much of the article is hopelessly outdated. For instance, the New York Times reports that "in the first six months of this year, net private capital inflow into Russia was $67.1 billion — more than during the entire first decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union".[1] --Ghirla-трёп- 13:57, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Graphs and Tables
Currently this is the table in the article:
| Year | Gross Domestic Product | US Dollar exchange |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1,428,500 | 4.55 Rubles |
| 2000 | 7,305,600 | 28.13 Rubles |
| 2005 | 21,665,000 | 28.27 Rubles |
| dates: | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trillion Rubles | 172 | 611 | 1,630 | 2,256 |
| Billion Dollars | 184 | 277 | 358 | 440 |
| Country | 1994 | 1998 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rubles | 604 trillion | ??? | ??? |
| Dollars | US$207 | ??? | ??? |
| PPP Dollars | 678 billion | ??? | ??? |
| Shadow | 50% | ??? | ??? |
I will be working on these tables. I hope to get a clearer idea of the size of the post-Soviet collapse of the Russian Economy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dwarf Kirlston (talk • contribs) 02:31, 9 November 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Accuracy of measurements, inflation, statement in the "introduction" portion
"Economists have struggled to achieve accurate measurement of the Russian economy, and they have questioned the accuracy of official Russian economic data. Furthermore, the exchange rate of the ruble (for value of the ruble) to the United States dollar has changed rapidly, and the Russian inflation rate has been high. These conditions make it difficult to convert economic measurements from rubles to dollars to make statistical comparisons with the United States and other Western countries."
I've removed this seemingly biased and politicized paragraph. Inflation does not interefere with economic accounting when it is measurable, as data can be indexed for inflation. In fact, I am an economics student and I had an assignment on indexing data to inflation a week ago, it is not hard to do with office excel. Further, all countries experience inflation. Russia's inflation is not too high and is by large driven by exports of commodities. Core inflation is fairly low when compared with the rest of the developing, growing economies. It appears to me to be someone's attempt to discredit the recent economic growth . Further, saying that "economosts" have struggled to do something is not an academically acceptable statement. Who are these "Economists"? You? Either cite or remove this statement. Further, if you wish to use the plural "economists", it is improtant to cite several studies which agree on this.
Dbullet 21:52, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
[edit] The amount of "External debt" in "Public finances" is misleading, should be 10 times less
Since it is headed "Public finances", the correct amount for the external debt of Russia is $44.9 billion as of January 2008. Source: Russian ministry of finances (http://www1.minfin.ru/ru/public_debt/external/structure/)
If you count all foreign loans by private corporations, then it is not "public finances". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.237.244.226 (talk) 01:58, 17 March 2008 (UTC)
