Features
How the Mongolians punch above their weight in military diplomacy
Mongolia leverages unique heritage of armed forces to build bridges with nations as far away as US and India.
Russia's oil revenues in January higher than from before the war
Russia’s budget earned more money from oil taxes in January 2024 than it did in January 2023, Ministry of Finance (MinFin) reported on February 7.
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Russia reports a painful RUB308bn deficit in January, but nowhere near as bad as the RUB1.7 trillion deficit in January 2023
When the January 2023 Russian federal budget deficit numbers came out this week a year ago a collective cheer went up from Western analysts: they were disastrous.
Azerbaijan’s Aliyev re-elected president
Snap presidential elections were held in Azerbaijan on February 7, at which the incumbent president, Ilham Aliyev, claimed victory. According to preliminary results, he received over 92% of the votes.
One United sees strong growth potential in 'hidden gem' Romania’s property market
CEO Victor Capitanu tells bne IntelliNews pent-up demand in residential and office sectors will fuel growth in coming decades.
OFAC “smart sanctions” target turbine lubricants and additives in an effort to stop Russian military production
Two days before Christmas the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) quietly released new sanctions on an esoteric product group: turbine lubricants. But these "smart sanctions" could bring Russian industry to a standstill.
The EU joins the global transport competition, proposes a Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor
The global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising tensions between China and the West and the increasingly fractured world has forced the global economy to remake its major transport routes. Now the EU is getting in on the game.
Is Tajikistan’s succession saga any closer to the end?
Rustam Emomali is increasingly the face of his country on the international stage.
Tense election week as Kremlin mulls anti-war presidential candidate’s application
It is a tense week for Russia’s presidential elections as the Kremlin mulls over a decision on allowing the surprise star of the show Boris Nadezhdin application to run in the race, the only candidate to openly oppose the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s conflict enters a third phase: the drone war
In the first months of the war in Ukraine it was the highly mobile hit-and-run teams wielding the US-made shoulder-launched Javelin tank-killers that dominated the fighting.
LONG READ: Will economic wrecker Erdogan let the technocrats fix Turkey?
Country badly needs to trigger major foreign capital inflows. For that to happen, global investors will need further convincing that the meddlesome president will largely stay out of policy making on the economy.
Russian banks earn $33bn in 2023, the most profitable year on record
Russian banks ended 2023 with a record RUB3.3 trillion ($33.3bn) in profits (adjusted for dividends), up by about half from the 2021 result, the last year of normal operations, according to the Central Bank of Russia (CBR).
The Middle Corridor set to halve cargo transit time between Asia and Europe
As Russia experiences the impact of sanctions and restrictions in trade and economic relations with a number of countries, Central Asian countries and China are exploring new routes to increase their exports to Europe while bypassing Russia.
Euro becomes a political tool in Kosovo sparking international backlash
Kosovo is under mounting pressure to scrap a decision to make the euro the only legal currency for daily transactions.
Orban set to compromise on EU's Ukraine financing deal
Amid both threats and signs of flexibility from the EU, the Hungarian premier is expected to drop his veto of the €50bn package.
Czech economy struggles to shake off stagflation
Czech inflation – currently the highest in the EU – is likely to remain above the central bank’s target for the whole of this year, limiting the room for rate cuts, says veteran economist Pavel Sobisek.
Can Iran's Central Bank rescue the plummeting Rial?
The Iranian rial has been successively recording drops since a few weeks ago, following the escalation of tensions in the region. This has raised concerns among market observers over another likely downfall in the upcoming days.
Is this the last year of Russian gas transit via Ukraine?
Ukraine has insisted it has no intention of renewing its gas transit contract with Russia that is due to expire at the end of this year.
wiiw projects brighter 2024 for Emerging Europe
Vienna-based think-tank expects growth to get back on track this year, but warns of risks from a Trump victory in the US and escalation of fighting in Ukraine or Gaza.
China shaping Central Asia into auto export hub
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev hopes that a new BYD plant in his country will before long be able to produce 300,000 cars per year.