Russian inflation up, whilst industrial production turns down. We saw this once in the spring of 2024, but it didn't look as *stagflationary* as the current divergence. Ruble in trouble? Nabiullina on the ropes? (Reminder: never trust RosStat/РОССТАТ numbers)

Lest ye forget: Canadian Bacon

In Central Asia, foreign investment is redolent of the Great Game. Russia is preoccupied; China is eager yet may soon be maxed out on its BRI-based mandate -- and that leaves room for a pair of players looking both to make and impact and outduel each other.
eurasianology.substack.com/p/one-partic...

It's great to see another faux-populist leader get backed down on an ill-conceived media-control law:
timesca.com/president-of...

However

It hurts to see that same leader adopt a copy-paste version of Russia's foreign agent-NGO law:
timesca.com/kyrgyzstan-t...

In case anyone was wondering, the portrayal of the Korovyev (Fagot) character (played by Yury Kolokolnikov) in the recent Master & Margarita film reboot is 1,000% based on Putin's PR sycophant Dmitry Peskov. The use of a double-clown in some scenes -- one intended, one not intended -- is comedic.

"We can't take Russian assets for Ukraine, because other kleptocratic, tin-pot dictatorships might not want to bank with the U.S."

Putin’s Apologists Fear – But Won’t Say – That Expropriating Russian Assets May Cause Foreign Buyers to Dump U.S. Treasuries
eurasianology.substack.com/p/putins-apo...

Russian companies and retail punters were loving the IPO market in 2023. How's it going to look in 2024 with the war grinding down the non-military portion of the economy?
eurasianology.substack.com/p/russias-20...