Economic security/ Crony capitalism threats

… Most experts and observers, let alone the public, have failed to focus on one crucial point: the EEU won’t just allow the cross-border free flow of goods, capital and labor; Belarus and Kazakhstan will now also be exposed to Russian organized crime, penetrating the countries’ businesses and government structures, which have hitherto been under the tight control of authoritarian leaderships.

In Belarus, the common feeling is that the streets and avenues of Minsk are clean and well-kept, medical services are fine, and policemen are “real” – not like Russia’s bent cops. The concern about what might happen may explain why Lukashenko, when faced with Moscow’s ban on Belarusian meat and dairy products, bluntly questioned Putin’s ability to fight “crooks feathering their nests” off bilateral trade. Or, he assumed, perhaps Moscow was using a combination of politics, shady schemes and “internal forces” as foreign policy instruments.

Astana has a lot to lose as well. In spite of all the ups and downs of Kazakhstan’s transformation to a market economy, the nation has risen 47th place on the World Bank’s Competitiveness Index and 50th place in the Ease of Doing Business rating.

Could the Russian Mob Take Advantage of the Eurasian Economic Union?