Nonresident Scholar Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Alexandra Prokopenko is a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. She is a visiting fellow at the Center for Order and Governance in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). In her research, she focuses on Russian government policymaking on economic and financial issues. From 2017 until early 2022 Alexandra worked at the Central Bank of Russia and at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow. She is a former columnist for Vedomosti. She is a graduate of Moscow State University and holds an MA in Sociology from the University of Manchester.
Alexandra Prokopenko focuses on the Kremlin’s decision to seize the Russian assets of two major foreign companies and what it means for the business climate and the other Western businesses who cannot — or will not — leave Russia. She also looks at Friday’s interest rate hike and new Western sanctions on Russia.
The uprising has highlighted a crisis of management in Russia’s political system and the huge contradiction within the Russian armed forces. But it looks like the Kremlin is not intending to take any measures in response, apart from dictating how state propaganda should frame the event
The EU should develop a comprehensive and sustainable strategy to address the issues surrounding European companies’ assets in Russia. Such a strategy should encompass legal, political, and economic considerations with the aim of safeguarding the interests of these firms.
Alexandra Prokopenko focuses on whether — as some officials are advocating — Russia could actually reduce spending in its next budget despite the war in Ukraine. She also looks at how Yevgeny Prigozhin’s insurrection prompted a huge spike in demand for cash and the rising numbers of Russians moving to Israel.
The excessive optimism of Putin and his ministers smacks of an attempt to convince not even mythical investors so much as themselves that business as usual is possible—and even compatible with their threats to unleash nuclear war.
Alexandra Prokopenko focuses on whether ordinary Russians believe the government’s claims that the economy is on the right track. She also looks at Putin’s latest nuclear rhetoric and Ukraine’s calls to further isolate Moscow from the global financial system.