Introduction

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The Russian economy has undergone monumental changes since the collapse of Communism. After a nearly decade-long decline, caused by the breakup of the Soviet Union and the transition from a planned to a market-driven economy, Russian business has been steadily on the rise since 1999. High prices for oil, natural gas and metals, Russia's main export items, helped the domestic economy recover from the financial collapse of 1998, which resulted in a deep devaluation of the national currency, the ruble.

In terms of economic growth Russia has already outpaced Brazil, Canada, and Italy and is now competing with two other large emerging markets, India and China. Significantly fueled by energy export revenues, real GDP has been growing by 7% on average between 2000 and 2007.¹ Russia has been able to pay off a large part of its foreign debt ahead of schedule,² and as of July 2008, it had accumulated over $ 592.3 billion in international reserves (formerly described as "gold and foreign-exchange reserves" by the Russian Central Bank.) ³ Foreign trade gains have recently translated into a surge in domestic consumption and investment.⁴ The RTS, a Russian stock market index, rose nearly 700% between 2002 and 2007.⁵ Average wages rose from $139 per month in 2002 to $753 in June 2008.⁶

Despite these impressive achievements, Russia's economy is still lopsided and Western experts point to the need for deep structural reform. The privatization of state-owned enterprises in the 1990s led to the concentration of wealth among a select group of businessmen connected to the government. Extreme dependence on the export of primary resources makes the Russian economy vulnerable in the long term. Many Russian regions remain underdeveloped, and innovation is lagging. Labor productivity in most sectors of the economy, and living standards of the majority of the Russian population are still well below those in developed countries.

Issue 13/14: Summer/Fall 2008

Guide to Russian Business Information Resources

Table of Contents

Overview
Introduction
Business & Economy
Foreign Trade & Investments
Finance & Banking
Industries
Labor & Management
Databases
Directories
News Sources
LC Catalog Searches

 1.Elena Sharipova and Katya Malofeeva. "Russia's Economic Growth: Navigating Storms," in Update: Economic and Political Research. Renaissance Capital, July 14, 2008 (published July 21, 2008). pp. 5-8, as viewed in the ISI Emerging Markets subscription database on August 18, 2008. Access limited to patrons on-site and other subscribers.

 2.Russia. (Federation) Central Bank. Banking Supervision Report. 2006. p.8, p.15.
http://www.cbr.ru/Eng/analytics/bank_system/report_2006_en.pdf [PDF Format: 891 KB / 101p.]

 3. Russia & CIS Business & Investment. Interfax. August 16, 2008. As viewed in the ISI Emerging Markets subscription database on August 18, 2008. Access limited to patrons on-site and other subscribers.

 4.Elena Sharipova and Katya Malofeeva. "Russia's Economic Growth: Navigating Storms," in Update: Economic and Political Research. Renaissance Capital, July 14, 2008 (published July 21, 2008). p.6, as viewed in the ISI Emerging Markets subscription database on August 18, 2008. Access limited to patrons on-site and other subscribers.

 5. RTS Index. p.2
http://fs.rts.ru/files/4446/indexrts-eng-2008.pdf   [PDF Format: 135 KB/ 12p.]

 6. Economic and Political Update. Renaissance Capital. August 11, 2008. pp. 19-20, as viewed in the ISI Emerging Markets subscription database on August 18, 2008. Access limited to patrons on-site and other subscribers. [Original source identified as Rosstat, Central Bank of Russia. Ministry of Finance, Renaissance Capital estimates]