... during the course of the year. First, tensions and contradictions associated with the simultaneous pursuit of political centralization alongside rapid economic development and liberalization. Second, there has been an intensification of external pressures to bring about a political settlement...

...Andrei P. Tsygankov During 2011, Russia made progress in recovering from the global financial crisis and moved toward further political centralization. Moscow also continued to prepare for an uncertain new world by pursuing pragmatic relations with Western and non-Western powers and by seeking...