The Russian economy retracted for the first time since 2009, registering a fall of 0.9% in November. The lack of growth exacerbated the ongoing crisis surrounding the ruble, reducing the currency’s value by an additional 7%. Emergency stimulus injected into the currency by the Russian central bank seemingly stopped the currency free fall in weeks…
Tensions between Moscow and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization flared again yesterday, as the Kremlin responded to rumors that Ukraine may become a member of NATO. The Kremlin has promised to cease all remaining ties with NATO should Ukraine begin the accession process, and accused NATO of using Ukraine for its own purposes of turning…
Russian energy giant Gazprom confirmed yesterday that Ukraine has at long last settled a debt of nearly $2bn USD. The Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz has similarly published that it transferred a sum totaling $1.65bn USD to Gazprom accounts in Moscow. The payment comes as the second of two commiserate payments made to Gazprom over…
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev announced his government’s readiness for oil prices as low as forty dollars per barrel. The Kazakh leader convened a press conference which was broadcast across the country seemingly to reassure anxious Kazakhs that the company does indeed “have a plan” should oil prices continue to drop. The speech, while replete…
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko praised the first night of successful cease fire between the Ukrainian military and separatist forces operating out of eastern Ukraine. The statements made by Ukrainian president and former chocolate mogul are significant mainly due to the timing of the cease fire. Circumstances would suggest that the timing of the cease fire…
Following an unsuccessful attempt to prop up the economy by means of an interest increase less than one week ago, the Russian Central Bank again moved to prop up the plummeting Russian ruble by raising the interest rate to 17%. The hike in interest rates coincided with value drops in the Russian ruble not seen…
Russia’s central bank stepped up its efforts to ward off rising inflation by raising the national interest rate to 10.5%. Inflation in the country has risen slowly but steadily as the economy worsens as a result of falling oil prices and economic sanctions that impact its defense and energy sectors. The move constitutes the second…
Recently elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently made headlines for a speech given and statements made during this week’s visit to India’s restive northern region of Jammu and Kashmir. The region, which still maintains a strong Indian military presence due to separatist activity in the region, has recently been afflicted by a series of…
The Asian Development Bank, a regional financial organization whose investment goals include regional infrastructure, transport and energy projects, has given the green light to its first private sector loan in Tajikistan. The regional body will allocate more than $11mn USD to acquire a ten percent share in Access Bank Tajikistan, a local financial institution that…
The presidents of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran attended the inauguration of a railway that will connect the three countries and serve as an additional conduit to the Persian Gulf. The ceremony took place in the Turkmen frontier village of Ak-Yayla, and marked the beginning of operations of the nearly 930 kilometer (578 mile) route. The…
STEPPE DISPATCHES 