The present risk assessment work emerged from my interest in the BRIC countries and the fact that they represent a big part of the world’s economic potential. In the following analysis I will focus on the main economic, political and financial risks in Russia. Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of area and the world’s ninth most populous nation with 143 million people. Due to its large area the country is situated in 4 different climate zones and has vast natural resources. Russia also has a unique geographic position with the 14 border countries, bounded by 3 out of 4 world oceans, facilitating the build of international and domestic supply chains. Russia is one of the most technologically advanced economies in the world with a very big and well-educated work force and one of the largest consumer markets. The Russian economy is commodity-driven and is the world’s largest producer of oil (12%), natural gas (18%) and nickel (20%). Russia's political institutions remain comparatively weak and political power is highly centralized, particularly at the presidential level, which maintains a dominant presence. Continued government interventions, regulations and an inefficient and corrupt legal system weigh on the cost and pace of doing business in Russia. These factors seriously hinder investment, both foreign and domestic. The corruption is very high and considered one of the most important political factors in Russia, as more than half of the population feels that corruption has increased and that the efforts of the government to reduce its levels are inefficient. (See App.11) The Corruption Perceptions Index placed the country in the lower section of the list (133 of 176 countries) showing the high corruption and bureaucracy in the country. Corruption and deficiencies in the rule of law limit Russia’s FDI potential. The Human development Index of
The current events showed that there are far more potential shatterbelts in the World that it may seem at first. The Ukrainian shatterbelt although is still potential, it created a deterioration in international relations that they have not seen since the Cold War. Russia’s economy cannot potentially last another Cold War. The current events will most likely lead to Russia’s relative isolation from the international community and lead its economy to stagnation, because there is no sight that Russia will give up Crimea. The “sanction war” between Russia and The West will continue on until a consensus is reached.
Tensions were continually rising between the superpowers. The threat of war and keeping peace were always the most important problems that the United States faced. This essentially led to economic crisis and inflation. Document 3 shows dates from 1953-1962 all demonstrating issues of war, peace, and international tension that the United States faced for nearly a decade. From the threat of war, young men that were turning eighteen were having to put their names in the draft for war. Many of these young men that were potentially going to war were inexperienced and not specialized for the military. Document 7 shows a political cartoon with a caption, “Happy birthday to youuuuu… Happy birthday to …,” and a military officer holding a young man over
Russia is a different country than most are used to which has made a history for itself. Russia played a huge part in World War II as well as established many scientific minds and creation. The first mission (unmanned) to outer space was conducted by Russia (Soviet Union). Their government is similar to democracy, but contains a president, a prime minister, a judicial branch, and a Russian Federation Assembly (State Duma and the Federation Council). Power is split between the Prime Minister (Dmitry Medvedev) and the President (Vladimir Putin); however, the president has deciding power (Darlington, 2014).
The two articles that had a profound impact to my understanding of race, class and gender in the United States was White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh and Imagine a Country by Holly Sklar. McIntosh explains the keys aspects of unearned advantage (a privilege that one group hold over another) as well as conferred dominance (the act of voluntarily giving another group power) and the relationship that these factors hold when determine power of a social group. Additionally, the purpose of McIntosh’s article was to demonstrate the privilege that certain individuals carry and how that translates to the social structures of our society. Furthermore, conferred dominance also contributes to the power of the dominant group
Shelley, Louise I. “The Challenge of Crime and Corruption.” Russia’s Policy Challenges. Ed. Stephen Wegren. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 2003. 103-122.
Corruption consists in the illegitimate agreement between a corruptor and a corrupted, in which they abuse of their public power in order to obtain personal benefit. Bribery and corruption is something that has been going on for years. According to Allen, “officials perceive themselves as immune to any penalties for demanding and receiving bribes” which she states that it is one of the main reasons for bribery and corruption in underdeveloped countries. According to Transparency International, an organization committed exclusively to end corruption, three of the most corrupt countries in the world are Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan. This does not mean that corruption is only seen in underdeveloped countries. In international business, corporate employees often find themselves dealing with corruptors in foreign countries and, in most cases, they will give in.
Consequently, Russia offers U.S. businesses both high risk, and potentially high rewards. Russian firms and customers admire U.S. technology and know-how, and generally are interested in doing business with U.S. companies. At the same time, there is a tendency in some quarters to suppose that the U.S. is responsible for the changes which have occurred in Russia, especially those which have caused most hardship to individuals and to industry. This sentiment has attracted the support of some political leaders, and in given credence by a significant proportion of the populace. At the same time, a strong U.S. commercial presence is viewed in the Russian Far East as a counterbalance to other regional economic powers.
Russia is located south of the Arctic Ocean, west of Alaska, north of Mongolia and China, and east of Europe. The capital of Russia, the biggest country in the world, is Moscow which is at 55 45º N 37 42 E. The Russians speak mainly Russian, although other languages are also spoken (place). Russian is 6,592,800 square miles, that’s around two whole United States in one country and Russia is the home of the deepest and oldest lake in the world. Lake Baikal is 1637 meters deep, and is freshwater. The largest mountain in Europe is also located in Russia, Mt. Elbrus at 5642 miles high. The most popular way to travel (movement) in Russia is by railroads, followed by air travel, and then by roads (driving) and water transportation. The U.S. buys 50.5% of Russia’s oil exp...
Conversely, Russia did not create its constitution until the end of the twentieth century, and has consistently met challenges establishing its legitimacy (Epstein, Knight, Shvetsova, 2001, p. 137). “The 1993 constitution declares Russia a democratic, federative, law-based state with a republican form of government. State power is divided among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches” (Curtis, 1996). Similarly, both countries have a hierarchical court system. By contrast, the Supreme Court in the United States is considered the country’s highest court, whereas Russia’s Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, and Special Arbitration Court are considered equal as the country’s highest courts.
There are many factors that account for the level of public support received by political leaders, state institutions, the government, and political parties in Russia. These factors includes economic performance of the Russian economy, legitimacy enjoyed by the institutions, political individuals and political culture. It is seen that the President receives much higher level of support when compared to the government, State Duma, political parties, and the press & media. This can be directly related to the economic performance, institutional freedom and perceived political stability of Russia.
Differences are the key development of the United States. In the stories “A Quilt Of A Country” and “Immigrant contribution” “One of America’s characteristics has always been the lack of rigid class structure” (J.F.K 24) we learn that immigration has had a lot of effects on America. This has forever changed our speech, traditions and even some cultures. When the immigrants came they brought their cultures with us, and that has stuck with us many Americans speak many languages and we would not be doing that today if it was not for the native speakers that came over here from their native countries. What we are today is more than likely made of something from overseas, we are not all native American, we had to get here some way and our ancestors or immigrants made it possible for us to have such a free, good life over here. They were escaping their problems and they caused less for us, we should all be thankful for where we live and truly embrace our culture.
Russia contains many different trade routes and is looking to expand its trans-Siberian railway to open up even more. There are also many different boundaries, a large amount of these are in the Northwestern, Central, Southern, Volga, and lower portions of the Urals, and Siberian areas. Populated areas contain most of the sustainable structures. It also includes 26 protected sites of World Heritage. These are found in the northwest mainly, but also found throughout Russia. Capabilities in Russia are lower than most other countries as the climate and terrain pose the issue of making most of the country not ideal for saving, enhancing, or sustaining life.
Russia has a high crime rate also. Their crime rate is so high that if you were to go to the store like the grocery store, when you walk in the store u have to lock your things up in a locker and shop. When you got through shopping then you were to pick up your stuff out of your locker. The whole time that you are shopping there are people watching your every move. The reason why the crime rate is so high is because they work hard to get paid a little amount of money. Russia’s unemployment rate is very high. There are not enough jobs in Russia for everyone to have a job. For example if you were to get a job at a fast food restaurant, you were only getting paid a little or nothing an hour and that’s not even close to minuan wage in America.
Russian Crime organizations have grown to a high number since the end of the Cold War. The Nuclear Black market is no stranger to the Russian Mafia. Russia may be poised to sell nuclear weapons to the highest bidder as organized crime expands its influence in Russian society (Phinney). Some of the 200 Russian organized crime groups now operate worldwide, including in the United states and gaining the ability to manipulate its banking system and financial markets (Phinney). Roughly two-thirds of Russia’s economy is under sway of crime syndicates, and protection rackets have been the norm since the collapse of communism(Phinney). The Russian Mafia and the antifada
After the communist collapse in Russia, Zakaria writes that Russia concentrated too much on a quick fix. The leaders wanted to mimic the American democracy an instituted “free and fair elections,” but they forgot about establishing a stable economy. Robert Kaplan writes in his essay, “Was Democracy Just a Moment?” that countries need to establish a stable economic system before they try to institute a political system or else that political system will fail. Specifically, Kaplan thinks that there should be a strong and large middle class in the nation before it leaders think democracy will work. Kaplan was not the only intellectual to say this; Aristotle believed that a strong middle class bred a strong society. The idea about this is that democracy cannot work if the majority of a country is poor and starving while a small minority has all the money. The poor will be too preoccupied with trying to survive than maintaining the government. Russia relied too much on its natural resources instead of trying to build a functioning economy (Zakaria, 92). Zakaria writes, “Russia’s fundamental problem is not that it is a poor country struggling to modernize, but rather that it is a rich country struggling to modernize” (92). By making the mistake of first fixing the political system before the economy, and then mismanaging its resources, Russia’s political system fell prey to corruption. Zakaria writes, “Yeltsin did little to build institutions in Russia. In fact he weakened almost all competing centers of power-the legislature, the courts, regional governors” (93). ...