Inside Story

Russia and the flight of capital

Are investors running scared as uncertainty reigns over Russia’s political future?

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, has called on business leaders this week to decide whether they support him for a second term or want Vladimir Putin, the current prime minister and former president, back in the Kremlin.

With eight months to go until a presidential election is held, Russia still does not know who will stand for the country’s highest office.

So far both Medvedev and Putin are seen as contenders. But neither has made any official announcement, and the uncertainty may be affecting the country’s economy.

Are investors running scared over the country’s political future?

Inside Story, with presenter Hazem Sika, discusses with guests: Alexander Nekrassov, a former Kremlin advisor; James Moore Junior, a former US assistant secretary of commerce for trade development; and Dimitry Babich, a political analyst with Russia Profile magazine.

This episode of Inside Story aired from Saturday, July 16, 2011.