Last year marked an important milestone as the world celebrated the 30-year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the first post-communist election in Poland. Despite the latest developments, there is still a large democratic gap between transition countries that became EU members and other transition countries.

What do we really know about Putin’s Russia? How far will the Russian economy, military prowess and international ambitions go? Torbjörn Becker together with other distinguish researchers and authors provides a basis for assessing Russia's prospects without the distortions caused by fake news and disinformation wars in the new book “Putin’s Russia - Economy, Defence and Foreign Policy” edited by Professor Steven Rosefielde of University of North Carolina.

SvD Näringsliv recently interviewed Torbjörn Becker – Director of Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics – sharing his impression about the current situation in Belarus and what potential role Russia have in all of this.

Six months after the corona virus first appeared, the world economy is entering a deep economic crisis that could result in political power shifts at global level. The absence of leadership in the US and the EU gives China and Russia increased confidence and leeway, according to Torbjörn Becker and co-author Martin Kragh in their latest chronicle published at Utrikesmagasinet.

Russia’s oil dependence will once again contribute to an economic downturn that most certainly will follow the Covid-19 outbreak in Russia as in other countries. The decline in oil prices alone could lead to a drop in GDP of more than 8 percent. Will Russia face difficult trade-offs in dealing with the crisis at a time?

In a joint collaboration, Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics together with members of the FREE Network initiative are now providing coverage on the COVID-19 situation in the Eastern European region. What is the current situation in Belarus, Georgia, Latvia, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and Ukraine?

Although significant growth has been achieved since 2000, all of this came in the first two tenures of Putin in the Kremlin during the increasing oil prices. But is Russia still a hostage to the whims of international oil market?

SITE's Director, Torbjörn Becker, shares his thoughts and reflection on a Baltic Rim Economies article about 30 years after the first post-communist election in Poland, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and EU's integration for many post-communist countries.

On December 16-17, 2019, the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics hosted the annual Academic Conference at the Stockholm School of Economics that brought together researchers and scholars in economics and political science from all over Europe and North America contributing to a better understanding of the political economy of Eastern Europe.

Working paper: This paper looks at economic growth and its fundamental determinants in Russia over the last decades. It starts by showing that, contrary to the views of some political commentators, growth is highly important for the popularity of president Putin.