We previously wrote about record capital flight out of Russia due to political uncertainty. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post have articles covering this topic. While Kathy Lally at the Post relies on Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a member of Putin’s United Russia party, for her main assertions that there is no competition and it is all a show, Ellen Barry at the Times reports that something more substantive is in progress. Barry refers to a Churchill Winston remark that refers to the Kremlin transfer of power as bulldogs fighting under a carpet,
An outsider only hears the growling, and when he sees the bones fly out from beneath, it is obvious who won.
Barry doesn’t try to predict the winner but Prime Minister Putin has been in the headlines by reprimanding Russian trade officials who were seeking to comply with World Trade Organization’s rule before ascension. James Bacchus, a former chief judge for the World Trade Organization wrote,
Putin’s Russia is something considerably less than an open society. There is evidence aplenty of his decided disdain for the rule of law. A commitment to uphold the rule of law is implicit in signing the WTO treaty. Although not mandated in so many words by the treaty, conscientious allegiance to the rule of law is inherent to a national commitment to comply consistently with WTO rules.
Putin has likened the prolonged WTO accession process to an “ambush” of Russian economic interests. Evidently, he wants Russia to be able to enjoy the benefits without bearing the burdens of being in the WTO. He seeks the tariff concessions and the safeguards against trade discrimination that come with WTO membership, but he does not seem to want WTO commitments to impede unduly on his continued ability to impose the whims of what often seems an arbitrary rule.
Despite Putin’s omnipresence in Russian politics and economy, he was uncharacteristically quiet in the BP-Rosneft deal. BP trying to regain its footing after the Gulf Oil spill entered into a deal with Rosneft while ignoring their existing partners in Russia, Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR). After legal contests in London, AAR has won a major concession, Arctic exploration.
