In May 2012, the ISET Policy Institute piloted a new monthly survey to measure consumer sentiment and expectations. The first pilot included about 60 randomly selected individuals who were asked about their well-being, saving and spending plans, etc.

A recent blog post on tractor service stations generated an interesting discussion in the comment section.

One of the recurring themes of Soviet propaganda was the tractor. Think for example of the film “Zemlya” by Alexander Dovzhenko, which features the triumphant arrival of the first tractor in a village and leaves no doubt that communism is to thank.

Classical production theory knows three so-called “production factors”: labor, capital, and land. One needs a certain amount of each of these factors in order to set up a production of whatever good. Then, in the 20th century, it became common to not count land as a separate production factor anymore.

Twenty years ago, on 26 December 1991, USSR broke into 15 pieces, 15 independent states. Amid great hopes, each of these states embarked on a path of transition: from socialism, from one-party state system, from the relative security of a small city apartment, a dacha, and a Lada to… an uncertain future.