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Tag: economy

Russia’s imitation game

As Russian aggression against Ukraine continues, it is important to understand what constraints might exist regarding Moscow’s behaviour. While vested interests remain supportive of the war effort, the country’s economy remains a key weak point. Targeted efforts to take advantage of this reality could make all the difference in 2026.

February 9, 2026 - Valerii Pekar

Belarus between a spin dictatorship and a dictatorship of fear

Five years after the 2020 protests, Belarus has entered a phase of authoritarian consolidation, further entrenching its overtly dictatorial character and deepening its dependence on Russia. Real power remains concentrated in the hands of the entrenched ruling elite, which has redoubled its efforts in the realms of propaganda, historical policy, and state ideology.

December 7, 2025 - Maxim Rust

2025: the year of infrastructure investment in Central and Eastern Europe

Worrying headlines concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine obscure an improving economic situation for the region. Faced with potential aggression from Moscow, many states are taking the initiative to make their markets both more resilient and attractive for investment.

March 31, 2025 - Christian Roy

Brussels and/or Beijing? Moldova’s opening holds promises and risks

Moldova’s recent turn towards Europe has helped to put the local economy on the map. While the country continues to pursue western integration, there is also an opportunity to benefit from stronger links with China. However, such engagement comes with as many risks as rewards.

On a crisp autumn afternoon in Moldova, a Yandex cab driver drives his BYD car through the streets of Chișinău. “It’s as good as a Lexus,” he said, nodding toward the car’s clean lines and smooth handling. BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, has rapidly expanded its global footprint and its presence in Moldova tells a compelling story. Affordable, efficient and durable, BYD cars are outpacing western rivals in emerging markets.

February 28, 2025 - Anda Bologa

The impact of western sanctions on Belarus

The targeted sanctions imposed on Belarus in 2022 did not take long to deliver a powerful blow to the nation's economy. The immediate aftermath was characterized by a sharp contraction, marking the onset of what economists have termed a “transformational recession”. Yet, the Lukashenka regime, bolstered by its close ties with Russia and its tight grip on domestic power structures, has so far weathered the storm.

September 20, 2024 - Hanna Vasilevich

Adolescence is over. Time for updates to the Central European growth model

The 20th anniversary of the 2004 European Union enlargement should constitute an occasion not only to celebrate the numerous economic successes of the last two decades, but also to reflect on upcoming development challenges. Although growth since the accession has been pretty solid and stable, its foundations are still not robust enough, especially given the current uncertainties concerning geopolitics and geoeconomics.

Twenty years of EU membership for the Central European countries have seen great success from an economic point of view. The dynamics of GDP growth have been relatively high, with the convergence process progressing and foreign trade developing at the same time. The inflow of direct investments has also been fairly intense, while unemployment decreased to the lowest levels in Europe. In addition, the region's countries have generally managed to maintain stability in their public finances.

June 22, 2024 - Konrad Popławski

Economic trouples in the Second Polish Republic were favourable for scammers. “Banksters” would appear in north-eastern Poland

One of the least studied aspects of the north-eastern voivodships during the Second People’s Republic is the activity of scammers. Their actions were often on hand for the people living in the Wilno, Nowogródek and Polesie voivodships of inter-war Poland.

March 2, 2024 - Ihar Melnikau

Economies of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine in 2023 – the devil is in the details

The ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine has influenced the economies of the three countries engaged in the conflict. While the similarities in the institutional setups of these economies have resulted in some resemblances regarding the results of this impact, there are also notable differences in what has happened in them.

February 26, 2024 - Kacper Wańczyk

The EU economy may not be in the best shape, but Ukraine will not be abandoned

Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine has dramatically exacerbated Kyiv’s dependence on the West to keep the economy afloat. Ukraine’s finance ministry estimates that in 2022, 38.6 per cent of the country’s budget came from external donors in grants and credits while Ukraine’s GDP, according to the International Monetary Fund, contracted by a third.

As Russia continues to bomb Ukraine’s power grid and destroy its infrastructure, the country’s economic projections for 2023 are devoid of optimism. For the country to survive, it needs economic assistance from abroad – and this is where matters get complicated. While Brussels recently gave the green light to the long-awaited macro-aid package worth 18 billion euros, the latest economic forecasts also spell trouble for EU economies, with the eurozone’s GDP growth expected to slow to 0.3 per cent.

February 16, 2023 - Lesia Dubenko

Georgia’s strong economic performance comes at a heavy price

Since February 24th 2022, Georgia’s economic ties and dependence regarding Russia have markedly increased, leading to heavy criticism of the Georgian Dream-led government about its lack of transparency around ties to Russian business interests. Most obvious among these concerns are those centred on the party’s founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire and former prime minister who made his fortune in Russia before entering Georgian politics.

Nearly one year on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a stroll through the streets of Tbilisi provides a visual reminder of both the ongoing conflict and the Georgian population’s prodigious support for the Ukrainian people. With billboards flashing blue and yellow and Ukrainian flags nearly matching their Georgian counterparts in representation, it is unsurprising that a March 2022 poll commissioned by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) showed that 98 per cent of Georgians support the Ukrainian people.

February 15, 2023 - Mackenzie Baldinger

The re-Sovietisation of Belarus

The nature of the crisis in Belarus is the same as in other countries of the region, with the collapse of old Soviet structures in the economy, society, politics and ideology. Alyaksandr Lukashenka does not understand the urbanised modern society he is trying to rule. In order to re-establish control, his regime is trying to move the society backwards. Repressions will be extremely costly for Belarusian society, but Lukashenka’s goal is unlikely to be achieved.

The past two years saw growing pressure from western sanctions on the Belarusian regime. Each move Alyaksandr Lukashenka took since 2020 has further limited his room for manoeuvre. After each of his decisions – the brutal crackdown of the 2020 protests; the repressions that followed; the grounding of the Ryanair plane; and finally, the support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine – a new wave of sanctions was introduced.

December 7, 2022 - Aliaksandr Papko Kacper Wańczyk

Putin’s mobilisation. Too little, too late

Given the systemic difficulties of the Russian army, the mobilisation announced by Vladimir Putin on September 21st may not change the situation on the front very much at all. And when considering the economic and social costs of the war for Russia internally, which are growing at an alarming rate, Putin may have gained some time, but he has not solved the problem.

September 26, 2022 - Agnieszka Bryc

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