I have been in Moscow in March, and my sister is running a few companies in Bulgaria and keeping me updated.
Russia is in better shape now than it was four years ago, which was almost inevitable after hitting rock bottom and defaulting on their government bonds. They simply couldn't go much lower without imploding.
The (measly) growth rates you post may well be correct, don't have time to check right now. Taking these into account, industrial output in Russia is now how much of 1990 levels? 30%? 50%? You tell me. And the Russian tax system is almost irrelevant since tax collection is still a mess.
Have they started feeding their conscripts by now? What's the situation like outside of Moscow?
Bottom line: Russia managed to pull itself back from the brink three year ago, and may now be on the right track to slowly creep back from 3rd world status. Declaring it the mastermind of a grand conspiracy to scare little children still makes me wonder about your agenda.
I'm not declaring any conspiracy, if you read anything I posted you'd be the wiser of that. Industrial output is down, true, but to compare it to the Soviet Union is ludicrous. 1st Russia is smaller, minus Ukraine and Belaruss. Secondly, Soviet output was mostly on paper, as each level of the bureacracy inflated the numbers to make themselves look better. Measly growth rates of 8%? You're an economist? The US during its super decade of growth in the '90s barely reached 5% on a good year. 8% growth in an economy is amazing, anything much higher and you are also facing run away inflation as a possibility, otherwise known as hyper inflation. Lastly, if the West hadn't raped Russia, under the blind eye of Yeltsin, there wouldn't be half this problem.
Like it or not, but tax collection is becoming efficient. That happens when money starts flowing in and the collectors and police start getting paid. Bulgaria is an IMF basket case while Russia has told the IMF to bite the bullet and get the hell out.
If things are soooo bad, then why is Moscow (and every other city) suffering (for the 1st time) grid lock auto traffic and having to rebuild/widen all the major roads?