Fencing club memberships surge following success of Russia’s answer to the Queen’s Gambit mini-series success

Following the phenomenal success of “The Queen’s Gambit,” Netflix’s fictional drama about a female chess prodigy, Russia has released its own version of the genre – except “On the edge” is about female fencing stars

Brighter days ahead: The economic bounce back in 2021

2020 has been one of the worst years in living memory. Worse than 2008. But the global economy should bounce back in 2021 as the pandemic fades thanks to the new vaccines

Will Biden impose new sanctions on Russia?

How 2021 turns out for Russia heavily depends on what, if any, new sanctions US President Joe Biden imposes on the country

Will there be a Russian relief rally in 2021?

Will there be a relief rally in 2021? There should be. In the year after Russia’s previous crashes there has usually been a big bounce-back

Russia’s Santa rally will get a corona boost this year and maybe more

The Russian equity market usually enjoys a rally between September and Xmas known as the “Santa rally.” But as investors anticipate the end of the global coronavirus pandemic this year the rally will get a boost and may run longer than normal

Southeast Europe’s EU members to get biggest boost from next budget and recovery funds

Central, Southeast Europe stock markets jump in anticipation of COVID-free future

The main stock markets of Central and Southeast Europe jumped in mid-November on a series of positive news reports of vaccine trial successes that gave hope that an end to the disruption caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) could arrive within months

Climate change damage will cost Russia $99bn, warns deputy minister of the Far East and Arctic

Climate change will cost Russia RUB9 trillion ($99bn) due to direct damage to buildings and infrastructure, says Deputy Minister of the Far East and Arctic Aleksandr Krutikov.

Russian retail investors piling into the stock market for the first time, but CBR worried about rising risks

Russian retail investors are finally investing in stocks as they look for better returns following the steady fall of interest rates at banks in recent years. But the CBR is worried that risks for the financial sector are rising as a result.

Turkmenistan: The dammed united

Travel bans, dams and Russian fans. This and more in Eurasianet's weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

Israel out to provoke war in dying days of Trump says Khamenei’s adviser after assassination of Iran’s nuclear mastermind

Tehran sees killing as effort to derail Biden’s move for diplomacy.

Ukraine debt: muddling through for a bit longer but 2021 will be tough

Ukraine got off to a very good start this year and by summer had grasped the nettle of most of its major problems. But in the autumn it all fell to pieces. With $14.5bn of debt redemptions in 2021 it is not clear how it will cope.

Moldova’s presidential election is over, now the battle for the parliament begins

President-elect Maia Sandu has plans for radical changes in Moldova starting with an overhaul of the judiciary, but to achieve this, she will need an ally as prime minster – which can only be achieved through snap elections.

COMMENT: Romania’s foreign debt, reserves and gold during the pandemic

Romania's external debt increased quite fast during the last year, rising from 48% to more than 56% of GDP, accelerated by the decline of GDP during the pandemic.

Moldova’s foreign policy reset

President-elect Maia Sandu is committed to Moldova’s European integration but she won’t needlessly antagonise Russia.

Attack of the Debt Tsunami: global debt soars to a new all-time high

The coronacrisis has sent already record-high levels of global debt soaring to giddying new levels, reports the Institute of International Finance (IIF) in a note released on November 18.

Kyrgyzstan's China debt: Between crowdfunding and austerity

Beijing does not appear disposed to give too much leeway.

Rural Russians are moving to cities to escape the impoverished regions

The coronavirus (COVID-19) story in most of Russia’s regions is bleak and Russians are increasingly moving to the cities looking for a better life.

Just how close is Belarus to an economic crisis?

Gripped with the lingering political turmoil, the Belarusian economy is sinking despite a $1.5bn loan lifeline thrown to it by the Kremlin to help Belarus’ self-appointed leader Alexander Lukashenko tough out a huge political and economic crisis.

Why has devaluation not helped Turkey’s current account balance?

The currencies of the major emerging markets (EMs) have been gradually depreciating over the last three decades, but that normally helps the current account balance. In Turkey's case the opposite is happening.