2012 Russian Election:Previous Leader Returning to Presidency, with Issues Needing Close Watch (Business Brief No. 3255)

After the Russian Presidential election on Sunday, March 4, 2012, it was unofficially reported that Mr. Vladimir Putin of the United Russia Party won more than half of the votes, thus becomingthe President of Russia again. Previously, he was in office as the President of Russia for two consecutive terms during 2000-2008 and was Prime Minister during 2008-2011, thus leading to his overwhelming influence on the Russian economy.

In this latest administration, KResearch views that Putin will continue policies implemented by the previous President and wield increasing power. His efforts will likely include enhancing the role of Russia in the global arena as being a large country and a key energy exporter, allowing Russia to have more bargaining power, though their practices and policies tend to differ somewhat from other Western nations. During this administration, the Russia's economic direction will need a close watch as the influence of United Russia Party – which has maintained a grip on the government for some time – is expected to diminish, thus hampering their control over legislative and economic policies that may be also counterbalanced by opposition parties. Therefore, Russia's policy stances in the global arena will need to be monitored further.

This presidential election may not directly affect our trade or investment with Russia because the investment value between us is relatively small. In trade last year, Thai exports to Russia accounted for only 0.5 percent out of our entire exports, valued at USD1.1495 billion. However, our exports to Russia grew 49.1 percent in 2011. The high export growth has been seen for many consecutive years and it also surged over our overall export growth of 17.2 percent.