Anders Aslund thinks Russia’s economy isn’t up to the ranks of its famed acronym partners.  He’s not the first to say it.  Although Aslund has been saying this for a long time, most observers agree that some tough times are ahead – and I don’t happen to think that bodes well for the small civil society movement.  From the Moscow Times:

The state-dominated banking system remains a morass. The five dominant state banks are in poor shape. The government pours more and more money into them, but it helps little as the banks lose it in short order on politically motivated, nonperforming loans. The state banks pose a threat of nationalizing big Russian companies, while they provide little credit. In effect, the Kremlin maintains a detrimental liquidity squeeze.

Senior officials interfere arbitrarily in big enterprises, asking them to hire more workers, to reduce prices and to expand production under threat of confiscation, further undermining the country’s weak property rights. This is the worst possible policy.