Because The Russian Economy Continues To Beat Expectations
Amidst the blizzard, a furious debate has erupted over the performance of the Russian economy. A recent paper by five researchers at Yale University, which has garnered widespread attention, says the retreat of Western companies and sanctions is “crippling” it. Any apparent financial advantages are a mirage. “Putin’s chosen statistics are then carelessly touted in the media and used by a host of well-meaning but careless pundits to create forecasts that are overly, unrealistically favorable to the Kremlin,” the researchers argue....