Law, Business and Society 11th Edition by Tony McAdams

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Russia-Economics
A Western visitor to modem Moscow must be hard-pressed to imagine that this thriving, consuming, competitive place was once the global center of communism, the dour capital of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the home of America's nuclear enemy. After the fall of the USSR and the ideological defeat of communism, Moscow embraced consumer capitalism, a change described by The Christian Science Monitor:
The heavy, block buildings of Russia's capital are no longer covered in banners of Lenin, Marx, and Engels. Instead, enormous billboards advertise watches, cars, clothing-items unimaginable in Soviet times. Capitalism has taken hold with a vengeance.
Russia remains a developing nation with a total economy about one-eighth the size of the U.S economy. Nonetheless, Russia's economic performance since the late 1990s has been impressive. With only a brief bump during the Great Recession, Russia has used its vast natural resources (Russia leads the world in oil production and is second in natural gas) to buy increased prosperity and achieve a balanced budget with near full employment. At this writing in 2013, however, growth has slowed and Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has proposed borrowing from Russian pension reserves to modernize the famous Trans-Siberian Railway, build a superhighway around Moscow, and build a 500-mile high-speed rail line between Moscow and Kazan, a regional capital. Putin's economic plan also includes a slowdown in the planned privatization of state-owned banks, utilities, oil companies, and other enormous assets. The Russian government controls about 50 per cent of the nation's economy, a presence that many economists believe must be reduced if Russia is to encourage foreign investment and maintain a vibrant economic future.
A big threat to Russia's long-term economic welfare and national stability is its aging population, now at about 143 million and growing slightly, but projected to decline to 116 million by 2050. Life expectancy declined to 69.7 years in 2012 (as compared with 78 in the United States and 83 in Japan). Russia's population dilemma is at least significantly attributable to a national culture of drinking and smoking that has contributed to a life expectancy for Russian men of only 60 years.
Russia-Politics
Russia's future economic success is intimately tied, of course, to its political processes. The state needs to win over foreign multinational investors who fear political tyranny and domestic corruption. Maplecroft, the British political risk consulting firm, in 2011 ranked Russia 186th out of 196 countries in political risk to business (1 being least risky) and according to Transparency International, Russia is the world's most corrupt major economy, ranking 154th out of 178 countries (1 being least corrupt).
The Russian government's centralization of economic power has been accompanied by tightened control over politics, courts, activists, and the mass media. A 2012 law imposes a $9,000 fine on those taking part in unsanctioned demonstrations that damage people or property. At this writing in 2013, hundreds of Russian civil organizations (e.g., supporting voting rights) have been subjected to "inspections" for "political activity." Recent legislation bans the "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" and imposes fines for holding gay pride rallies or providing information about the gay community to minors. The Russian people, nonetheless, express strong support for President Putin, even as they acknowledge a wide gap between what is and what should be in Russian elections, judicial systems, free press, and the like. Critics question whether state capitalism as practiced in Russia can succeed in the face of political repression, routine corruption, and abuse of the rule of law.
Propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations
In 2014, in response to Russian military action in Ukraine, the United States imposed sanctions-travel bans and asset freezes-on several Russian government officials as well as business executives and companies. What impact might these sanctions have Should such sanctions be a part of an international response to a government's actions Explain