Less Russian freedom
Democracy is on the decline in Russia, this year’s democracy rating from the Freedom House indicates. At the same time, the 2009 Economic Freedom Index from the Heritage Foundation concludes that also the level of economic freedom is worsening in the country.
In the Freedom House index, Russia is one of the 42 countries categorized as “not free”. A total of 193 countries are included in the ranking. 89 counties are categorized as “free”, while 62 countries are “partly free”.
According to the Freedom House, the worsening conditions for democracy in Russia are negatively influencing the level of freedom also in the country’s neighboring states. Negative is the development “petro-authoritarian” rule in the region, the U.S.-based organisation highlights.
At the same time, also the level of economic freedom is under increasing pressure in the country. This year’s index from the Heritage Foundation concludes that Russia is among the countries categorized as “mostly unfree”. It is number 146 of 179 countries rated.
The study includes information on the countries’ trade policies, government engagement, financial policies, property rights and more. The rating is headed by the Chinese region Hong Kong, ahead of Singapore, Australia and Ireland.
Most of the EU countries are categorized as “mostly free” by the Heritage Foundation.
