The Council of Foreign and Defense Policy (swap) created in the days of the collapse of the GKChP plays a unique role for the Russian expert community. This is perhaps the only site today where analysts that adhere to directly opposite political views can meet and argue. These discussions are especially curious now, when the confrontation between Moscow and the West is growing, when we are rapidly moving towards the new Cold War.

The economy was in the systemic crisis. The collapse of the ruble begins to negatively affect the real income of the population and makes people reduce expenses, which has an additional depressive effect on Russian business.