The Russian Economy in 2008: Testing the "Market Economy"

In Russia, the market system that arose out of the financial crisis of a decade earlier faced its first major challenge in the second half of 2008. The Russian response to this crisis provides a defining event for the Russian market economy. Drawing on macroeconomic statistics and newspaper coverage, the article uses the crisis as a lens for focusing on the nature of the Russian economy in 2008, and on the defining characteristics behind its response to the crisis. The beginnings of a systematic response that tells us much about the state of the Russian economy in 2008 is already evident.