Over the last decade, the Kremlin’s policies have consistently traded Russia’s economic development for Russia’s great power status. As a result, Russia has experienced a significant economic slowdown. Recent efforts to extend President Vladimir Putin’s presidency will enable Moscow to continue these policies. But are these policies feasible in the long term? Few in-depth empirical studies have attempted to answer this question. To do so, CEPA and the Levada Center ran a series of surveys in Russia designed to explore the modernizing trends within Russian society. This discussion will present the results of the report – the first in a series – that focuses on Russians’ attitudes towards business and entrepreneurship in Russia.

Join CEPA for a discussion where panelists will consider: does the economic slowdown undermine the willingness of the Russian population to do business; how do Russians view business, and what role does the Soviet legacy of seeing businessmen as crooks play in it; how do these attitudes vary across different population groups; what factors do citizens identify as key obstacles to doing business in Russia; and how do their views of state officials factor in?