Russia’s Economic Crisis: How Deep? How Wide? How Lethal? December 9, 2008

Host: American Enterprise Institute. While economies all over the globe are facing tough times, Russia’s symptoms appear to be particularly acute. Though the Kremlin continues to assure Russians that their economy is strong, the evidence points to a systemic crisis. As in 1998, people are beginning to change money into dollars, and whispers of “default” are growing louder in Moscow. Are the fears of an economic calamity founded? What structural deficiencies are at the root of Russia’s current predicament? Has Russia’s recent growth and prosperity been too narrowly based—stemming not from modernization but from high commodity prices? How deep is the current crisis—and how severe might the political repercussions be in a country whose population has enjoyed an 8-10 percent income growth in the past nine years? At this AEI event, a group of leading experts on the Russian economy will discuss these and other questions.

Official Website: http://www.aei.org/events/type.upcoming,eventID.1846,filter.all/event_detail.asp