The Anatomy of Russian Foreign Trade Statistics

Abstract

The study, by a noted Japanese economist and observer of Soviet and post-Soviet economic affairs, represents a pioneering effort to evaluate the statistical data base reflecting Russian foreign trade. The author examines in minute detail the inconsistencies and deficiencies of data compiled from 1985 to mid-1994, focusing on classification and highlighting the changing and conflicting methods of compilation. Tracing and tabulating data valued in dollars and foreign trade rubles, he also covers and analyzes Russian statistics detailing trade in commodities. Also discussed is the geographic distribution of Russian exports and imports to foreign countries in the late 1980s and 1990s. 1 figure, 10 tables, 37 references.