April 16 — Anders Åslund on “Russia’s Capitalist Revolution: Why Market Reform Succeeded and Democracy Failed”
The Russian market economy in the 1990s — born in blood, tears, and conspicuous mafiya consumption — had no stronger supporter among Western economists than Anders Åslund. So why is he so down on Putin today?
When: Wednesday April 16, 5:45 refreshments; 6:30 dinner; 7:30 presentation
Where: Woodstock Club 1301 W 38th St Indianapolis, IN 46208
Anders Åslund has been a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics since 2006. He is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. For a couple of decades he has been one of the world’s leading analysts of the economies of Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, as well as the broader implications of economic transition. He worked at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from 1994 to 2005, first as a senior associate and then from 2003 as director of the Russian and Eurasian Program. He also worked at the Brookings Institution and the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies. He earned his doctorate from Oxford University.
Åslund has served as an economic adviser to the governments of Russia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan. He was a professor at the Stockholm School of Economics and the founding director of the Stockholm Institute of East European Economics. He worked as a Swedish diplomat in Kuwait, Poland, Geneva, and Moscow. He is a member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and an honorary professor of the Kyrgyz National University. He is co-chairman of the board of trustees of the Kyiv School of Economics and chairman of the Advisory Council of the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE), Warsaw.
He is the author of eight books, including Russia’s Capitalist Revolution: Why Market Reform Succeeded and Democracy Failed (2007), How Capitalism Was Built: The Transformation of Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia (2007), Building Capitalism: The Transformation of the Former Soviet Bloc (2001), How Russia Became a Market Economy (1995). He is also editor or coeditor of twelve books, including Europe after Enlargement (2007) and Revolution in Orange: The Origins of Ukraines Democratic Breakthrough (2006).
Know before you go … Part of the reason why Åslund has been so influential is his accessible writing style. Check out some of his articles at his Peterson Institute page. See especially his expose on Putin’s personal corruption: “Unmasking President Putin’s Grandiose Myth.” For the latest on his hopes and disappointments for Russia, see this profile.
For More Information about Russia … check out Provocate’s recommended readings.
If this discussion of Russia sounds interesting, be sure to attend Dave Mason’s talk about Russia May 21.
To RSVP contact Courtney Weldon at (317) 293-5227 or Courtenay@cweldon.net. Pricy ($45), sure … but you have a choice of a fine halibut or a vegetarian meal.
