Impact of the Economic Crisis in Russia on Central Asia

Author(s): Nate Schenkkan
Editor(s): Stephen Aris, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder, Aglaya Snetkov
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 165
Pages: 3-6
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University
Publication Year: 2015

The 2014 Russian economic crisis caused by Western sanctions and the drop in the global oil price has transformed into a regional economic crisis. Central Asian economies are highly vulnerable to: shocks from low oil and gas prices; the current troubles facing the Russian ruble to which their currencies are closely linked; drops in remittance income from labor migrants working in Russia; and reduced Russian investment. Already in 2014 the impact of the Russian crisis had severely damaged growth in Central Asia and could further destabilize the region in 2015 if the decline becomes more severe. Longer term, the crisis will affect the prospects of the different models of Eurasian regional economic integration that Russia, China, and the United States are advocating.

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