On March 3, 2022, ISET Policy Institute Lead Economist Yaroslava Babych and Director Tamar Sulukhia spoke at the international Webinar “The Sanctions on Russia, and their impact on the region”. The Webinar was organized by the Stockholm Institute of Transitional Economies and the Free Network (which is sponsored by Sida) and discussed the impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine on the region, with a focus on the economic effects of sanctions in Russia and the region.

As I am writing these lines, Russian tanks are moving deeper into the territory of my country, Ukraine, and emotions are threatening to overwhelm me. But emotions cannot shake what we, as economics scholars, value the most: devotion to truth and careful, impartial use of facts and logic to arrive at conclusions.

The ISET-PI team participated in the Economic Research Mentoring Program (ERMP), organized by the China-Russia Eurasian Studies Centre (CREC). One of the ISET Policy Institute’s research proposals has been selected for the final round of the ERMP research competition.

On February 15th 2021, export quotas on wheat, rye, maize, and barley entered into force in Russia. Russia also imposed customs tariffs and prohibitive duties amounting to 50% of customs value on these products.

According to the last four years’ data, Georgia has a chronic electricity deficit in ten months out of twelve, with the country showing an electricity surplus only in May and June (and, occasionally, in April and/or July). Despite the COVID-19 crisis dampening electricity demand in the country, 2020 was no exception. After two months – May and June – characterized by a positive generation-consumption gap, starting from July 2020 Georgia has been generating less electricity than required to cover consumption.