After a decade of 7 percent growth a year, Russia has had an average economic growth of 1 percent a year since 2009. Disposable income for Russians has declined by 13 percent from 2014-2018, and the decline continues. Anders Åslund, takes a close look on Russia’s ruling elite and its President, and comments the reasons why Russia’s economy has not helped its people.

In his presentation, Anders Åslund will present his latest book, Russia’s Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy, which looks at how president Putin has consolidated power through the economic system he has created.

Professor Åslund is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He was the first director of SITE (then the Stockholm Institute of East European Economics) when the institute was set up 30 years ago at the Stockholm School of Economics in an agreement between the Swedish government and leading Swedish businesses. Before joining the Atlantic Council, he worked at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Brookings Institution, and the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center. He has also served as a Swedish diplomat in Kuwait, Poland, Geneva, and Moscow.

The presentation will be chaired by Torbjörn Becker, Director of SITE. Time will be available for questions and answers after the presentation. To celebrate professor Åslund’s new book and his key role as SITE’s founding director 30 years ago, we will serve drinks and snacks after the presentation accompanied by a more informal discussion of Russia and the region.

Please note that the venue has limited seating so please sign up for this event as soon as possible to ensure your participation.

Date: Thursday, May 23, 2019
Time: 17.00-18.30, registration starts at 16.30
Location: Stockholm School of Economics, Lecture room: Terassrummet, 8th floor. Entrance from Holländargatan 32
RSVP: Please note that the number of seats for this event are limited, register here.