What are the chances of another world depression? Even to ask the question might seem mischievous. Everything is going marvellously well. We have discovered the secret of everlasting growth. Don’t ruin it with inconvenient scepticism. Yet in 2001, after the Wall Street bubble burst (and only four years after the global 1998 crisis, which severely … Continue reading What are the chances of another world depression?
Author: Robert Skidelsky
Economist and member of the House of Lords
How Russia became doubly delusional
THE LITVINENKO AFFAIR gives a human dimension to what we in the West find most disturbing about modern Russia. It leaves the impression of rogue elements of the Russian State murdering enemies with impunity, at home and abroad. Add to this Andrei Lugovoy’s surreal claim that MI6 had a hand in the murder and Russia’s … Continue reading How Russia became doubly delusional
Winning a Gamble with Communism
By Force of Thought: Irregular Memoirs of an Intellectual Journey by János Kornai MIT Press, 461 pp., $40.00 The Hungarian János Kornai is the most famous, and certainly the most influential, economist to have emerged from postwar Communist Europe.[1] His reputation is based on three books, Overcentralization, Economics of Shortage, and The Socialist System, which … Continue reading Winning a Gamble with Communism
‘Liberal Empire’ vs. ‘Sovereign Democracy’
In my last column, I talked about how Russia’s great power illusion clashed with the facts of American power. I argued that, in present circumstances, its foreign policy should be designed to conciliate and please, not threaten and annoy. This is not the way Russia’s policy makers see things. Today I want to unpick two … Continue reading ‘Liberal Empire’ vs. ‘Sovereign Democracy’
Russia in the World
Speech at EBRD Business Forum, May 21st 2007 Russia’s integration into the world economy has been based on energy. Energy is predominant both in its domestic economy and foreign trade. In 2006, oil and gas made up 40% of GDP, and 60% of Russia’s exports. Since 2000 rising oil export revenues have been the main … Continue reading Russia in the World
Russia must tread more softly
Old men who have lost their potency comfort themselves with the thought that they can ‘still do it’. So do collapsed great powers. The outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair fantasised that his country’s ‘special relationship’ with the United States gave him unique influence over President George W. Bush. The European Union, having lost its … Continue reading Russia must tread more softly
Russia can beat Berezovsky with better PR
The latest spat between Britain and Russia is largely a newspaper creation. The refugee oligarch Boris Berezovsky told the Guardian (13 April) that ‘he is planning the violent overthrow of President Putin from his base in Britain’. The Russian government was predictably, and understandably, annoyed. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s chief spokesman, said Russia would be … Continue reading Russia can beat Berezovsky with better PR
Essay: Putin’s Patrimony
When asked about the effects of the French revolution, Zhou Enlai is famously supposed to have said: "It is too early to tell." After only 15 years, post-communist Russia is still near the start of a film which clearly has a long time to run. Official and editorial commentary from the west takes the form … Continue reading Essay: Putin’s Patrimony
Coming Out Negative in the Balance
Russia’s temporary halt to oil supplies through the pipeline crossing Belarus earlier this month was the latest in a sequence of public relations disasters for the Kremlin. The West’s romance with President Vladimir Putin’s Russia ended with the Yukos affair and since then Russia has generally gotten bad press, even when it had a good … Continue reading Coming Out Negative in the Balance
Shell vs. Russia: the balance is negative
Russia's temporary halt to oil supplies through the pipeline crossing Belarus earlier this month was the latest in a sequence of public relations disasters for the Kremlin. The West's romance with President Vladimir Putin's Russia ended with the Yukos affair and since then Russia has generally gotten bad press, even when it had a good … Continue reading Shell vs. Russia: the balance is negative
Robert Skidelsky 