8 November 2005
The Foreign Policy Centre hosted the launch in London this week of a new Russian think-tank set up to analyse and promote the country's development as a free market economy.
The Institute for Contemporary Economic Research (ICER) is an independent non-profit organisation based in Moscow to conduct theoretical and applied research in the areas of macro- and microeconomics, labour economics, social reform and fiscal and monetary policy. Its mission is to promote a liberal view of the economic and political changes occurring in Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern Europe as a whole. The scholars at the Institute regularly take part in academic conferences within Russia and abroad and publish widely in learned journals, newspapers and magazines as well as appearing on the broadcast media. The Institute was founded in 2005 and evolved from its predecessor, The Institute for Open Economy, which had been the FPC's leading partner in the now well-established "Future of Russia" programme.
The ICER launch, attended by international experts, politicians, government officials and journalists, saw an informal discussion of "The Future of Russia's Economy". One of the speakers, Gideon Rachman, Business Editor of The Economist noted that many of the successes under Vladimir Putin's leadership – tax reform, balanced budgets, sharply reduced international lending and a booming economy – have been overshadowed by increasing state intervention, particularly in the oil and gas sectors.
Elena Zhuravskaya, the ICER's Executive Director, introduced the Institute's research associates and outlined their respective areas of speciality.
Speaking at the event, the FPC's Director Stephen Twigg hailed the launch of the Institute as a great opportunity to strengthen the links between Britain and Russia through a partnership to develop new ideas in the political and economic spheres.