Russia

Undergraduate student Sasha Horokh speaks with GBH reporters Paris Alston and Jeremy Siegel about the ongoing war in Ukraine. “I think it's important that we do not get used to this, and to keep supporting Ukraine,” says Horokh.

Writing for The Los Angeles Times, Prof. Simon Johnson predicts that Russia has entered a period of secular decline, noting that the “direct economic impact will be reflected in the world energy market.” Johnson writes: “In 2023 and beyond, the West needs to focus more intently on reducing demand for fossil fuels, particularly oil, and increasing the supply of alternative energy sources outside the control of Russia and OPEC.”

Prof. Simon Johnson and his colleagues write for The Los Angeles Times about how a cap on Russian crude oil will prevent Russia from disrupting global oil markets while protecting the world economy. “This is an important step toward reducing Russa’s capacity to continue the war in Ukraine,” they write.

In this opinion piece for the Los Angeles Times, Prof. Simon Johnson suggests that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) decision to reduce production quotas, which was seemingly done in an effort to support Russia, will drive up oil prices worldwide. “The likelihood of Russian defeat in Ukraine, increasing daily with Ukrainian advances, will change the global picture for oil considerably, and OPEC members need to decide whose side they are on for what comes next,” writes Johnson.

Prof. Simon Johnson has been working with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s economic advisors to build a plan for Ukraine, reports Daniel Flatley for Bloomberg. “The plan, as Johnson sees it, would leverage the interest that insurance companies and other firms have in facilitating the oil trade and use it to enforce the ban,” explains Flatley.

Incoming first-year student Robbie Khazan founded Kiddo Byte, an organization that offers coding classes for kids, which is now branching out to help young Ukrainian refugees, reports Jim Morelli for Boston 25 News. “It [coding] really gets the mind going,” says Khazan. “It gets critical thinking going, which is a super important skill nowadays. The more coders that they have in Ukraine, the better suited they’ll be to rebuild.”

Prof. Simon Johnson and Oleg Ustenko, economic advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky write for The Los Angeles Times about the importance of restarting the Ukrainian economy as the fighting continues. “The good news is that the European Union, the United States and other allies have already committed substantial resources to support Ukrainians, including when they leave the country as refugees,” write Johnson and Ustenko. “What is needed now is to adjust how those resources are deployed, to encourage these refugees to return home when it is safe to do so.”

Writing for The Los Angeles Times, Prof. Simon Johnson and Łukasz Rachel, a research fellow at Princeton University, make the case for implementing a price cap on the cost of Russian oil. “This price cap scheme could run alongside the phase-in of a full EU embargo,” they write. “If the coalition involves non-EU countries, this arrangement will guarantee that Putin receives less money for his oil even after the EU ban kicks in.”

Writing for The Los Angeles Times, Prof. Simon Johnson makes the case for imposing more stringent sanctions on Russia. “The war crimes committed by Russian forces at Bucha in Ukraine have brought greater clarity to economic sanctions,” writes Johnson. “What is in place now is insufficient and needs to be expanded.”

Writing for The New York Times, Steven Simon, a fellow at the MIT Center for International Studies, and Jonathan Stevenson of the International Institute for Strategic Studies explore the Biden administration’s response to Russia’s nuclear threats. “The United States and NATO should be less deferential to Mr. Putin’s attempt to wield the threat of nuclear weapons,” they write, “not only for the sake of supporting Ukraine but also to ensure global geopolitical stability in the future.”

Prof. Stuart Madnick speaks with Olivia Rockeman of Bloomberg about how the large number of vacant cybersecurity positions across the U.S. is cause for concern amid the growing risk of Russian cyberattacks.

Daleep Singh, an MIT alumnus and the United States Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics, speaks with CBS journalist Sharyn Alfonsi about the economic sanctions being used to combat Russia’s attack on Ukraine. “In this century, our view is power is much more closely tied to your economic strength, technological sophistication, and your story,” says Singh.

Prof. Emily Richmond Pollock speaks with Isaac Chotiner of The New Yorker about how some Western institutions have cancelled performances by Russian artists following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Some of the discussion of these issues has fallen into some old patterns of thinking that we as musicologists are alert to,” says Pollock, “and want to warn against, which includes reacting to these kinds of bans by insisting that music is apolitical, or that there’s something fundamentally and inherently apolitical about music, which is a really problematic and untrue statement, and a knee-jerk response.”

Prof. Jonathan Gruber speaks with Boston Public Radio about the economics of sanctions and whether they have been an effective tool to deter Russia's invasion of Ukraine. “The integrated world economy has made these sanctions so much more powerful,” says Gruber. “The real test is will they eventually work to bring [Putin] to heel over the longer run.”

Gas prices in Massachusetts have been spiking since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reports Kristina Rex for CBS Boston. “This is an artificially set price because OPEC controls how much oil they release,” says Prof. Jon Gruber. “[OPEC] like[s] the price going up, but if it goes up too much and people stop driving, it’s bad for them, so at some point they will release more oil and keep the price from going too high.”