Author
Alexei Bayer
Senior Editor, The Globalist
[United States]
Alexei Bayer analyzes international capital markets, political risk and emerging market economies. He particularly focuses on Russia and Eastern Europe.
Mr. Bayer previously served as senior financial markets economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit and worked at Standard & Poor’s, serving as managing editor of CreditWire, an electronic bond rating service.
Born in Russia, Mr. Bayer has contributed to the op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Financial Times. He is also a columnist for the independent Russian business newspaper, Vedomosti. His debut novel, Murder at the Dacha, a mystery set in 1960s Moscow, was published in May 2013.
Articles by Alexei Bayer
Trump: How Fast from Farce to Tragedy?
Today’s United States is currently experiencing the farcical stage of a charismatic leader with dubious motivations that could end up as national and global tragedy.
November 22, 2024
The Battle Over U.S. Inflation and Its Real Cause
For all the focus on inflation ahead of the November U.S. presidential election, the debasement of the U.S. currency is the root of the U.S. cost of living crisis. And that is a bipartisan issue.
September 23, 2024
Trump and Christ: Should Christians Fear Trump?
Trump’s Christian supporters see him as the Chosen One. Yet there are very few of the Ten Commandments Donald Trump has not yet violated.
August 14, 2024
Will Trump Become a Victim of His Own Success?
Trump’s generally dismal record in business may offer the Democrats much-needed hope for their 2024 Presidential campaign.
July 23, 2024
Will American Monetocracy Ever Come to an End?
The U.S. is increasingly becoming a nation devoted to the religion of money – run by an ever-smaller group of elites who control it.
July 2, 2024
Putin and the Long Shadow of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
D-Day marked the beginning of the end of Hitler’s empire. But with Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, it also underscores that the job begun in Normandy eighty years ago remains only half-done.
June 5, 2024
Why Trump Supporters Love Putin
In its ardent pursuit of retro-mindedness, MAGA America would indeed be close to Russia – which is the true reason why America’s far right admires Putin.
May 21, 2024
Sakharov and Where Russia Went Wrong
After the end of any authoritarian regime, the future development of the country in question hinges on whether or not opposition forces come to power. Russia is a prime example.
December 16, 2023
The World That Bush Built
The often overlooked factor that definitely changed the global equation for the worse is the ignorance and bombast of George W. Bush and his presidency.
December 7, 2023
Putin’s Russia and Trump’s U.S.: Converging in Resentment?
Russians are frustrated because they lost the Cold War. But why would right-of-center Americans, long proud to be the victors, feel a similarly deep resentment?
November 8, 2023
I Have a Dream: Netanyahu Has a Way Out
This plan means taking an enormous risk. But it is also the only hope to end the vicious cycle that has plagued the region for three-quarters of a century.
October 12, 2023
NATO and the “Orban-Exit”
Why it is high time for NATO to offer Putin to withdraw from at least one ex-communist country in Eastern Europe – Orban’s Hungary.
August 17, 2023
What Russia’s Wagner Group Can Teach NATO
Russia’s unending series of war crimes warrant a more determined answer from Western nations.
July 26, 2023
War In Ukraine: Putin Can’t Win — But the US Can Lose
The destruction of the Kakhovka dam demonstrates that Russia is resorting to increasingly desperate measures. The question is how the West will respond.
June 11, 2023
Why Brexit Has Been Good for Ukraine
Russia’s war against Ukraine provided Boris Johnson with a unique opportunity to highlight Britain’s international leadership credentials.
May 16, 2022
Will Putin Put Down the Kazakh Spring?
Why the popular uprising against corrupt national elites in oil-rich Kazakhstan has Putin and Russia so nervous.
January 7, 2022
Closing Memorial: Putin’s Blueprint for U.S. Republicans
How the closure of the Memorial in Russia is a template for the kind of society Republicans want to build in the U.S.
January 5, 2022
When Mob Rule Comes to the United States of America
The parallels between the Leninist power usurpation in early 20th century Russia and the Trumpian brigades in today’s United States are becoming ever more eerie.
November 8, 2021
Inequality à la San Francisco: A Warning for America’s Future
Karl Marx and the dark side of the tech revolution
May 27, 2021
Biden: Appeasing Putin?
Putin’s little PR bluster games shows how much Russia has declined in the global league tables of geopolitical relevance. Why Joe Biden won’t take Putin’s bait.
April 24, 2021
Bernie Madoff and the Fed: American Pyramid Builders
The U.S. Federal Reserve has been building a pyramid that is similar to Madoff’s — but on a massive, global scale.
April 23, 2021
The US Republicans’ Putin-Style “Managed” Democracy
Yet more evidence that US Republicans are close soul mates of Russia’s President when it comes to restraining democracy.
March 15, 2021
US Republicans: Putin’s Party?
In 2020, the Republicans are in the process of transforming themselves into the U.S. equivalent of Putin’s United Russia Party.
December 15, 2020
Putin and the Slow-Burn US Civil War
An overly lengthy transition period can be highly destabilizing even in the U.S. -- a nation that deems itself a mature democracy.
November 19, 2020
Putin’s Russia Is Like Brezhnev’s USSR: Will the End Be the Same?
After 20 years in power, Putin’s balance sheet is weak. Considering Russia strong is a serious misreading of its real situation at home and abroad.
September 4, 2020
Dial “M” for Murdoch
Fox News, just like Putin, is working hard to give Trump four more years in the White House -- so that he could complete the destruction of the U.S.
September 2, 2020
Donald Lukashenko: Amazing Parallels Between Belarus and the US
Under Trump, the United States -- despite 250 years of self-government -- may get dangerously close to how Europe’s last dictator has operated in Belarus.
August 17, 2020
Putin’s 2020 Russia and Vladimir Voynovich’s “Moscow 2042”
Has Putin’s Russia of 2020 been foreshadowed by Russian novels, in a mixture of wicked satire and genuine tragedy?
July 2, 2020
Trump and Musk: Two Unstable Geniuses Compared
Recognizing what constitutes reality is a minimum job requirement for any leader. While Donald Trump often appears delusional, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is so only part of the time.
May 11, 2020
Next After COVID: A Computer Pandemic?
The coronavirus-induced shift to more digital life highlights a new source of significant worry: Computers are also very susceptible to infections by viruses.
May 3, 2020
US: High Time for a New New Deal
How to save the U.S. economy from a looming depression.
April 29, 2020
How COVID 19 Hits Bad Governments
COVID 19 is especially dangerous for people with pre-existing conditions. It also strikes countries with pre-existing bad governments with particular severity.
April 7, 2020
Trump’s Dangerous War on Science
In his approach to science, Donald Trump is following in the footsteps of autocrats of the past. Will the result be similarly disastrous for the United States — and the rest of the world as well?
March 28, 2020
Science and World Power
For centuries, scientific and technological prowess -- or lack thereof -- is what has separated global winners and losers.
March 28, 2020
What is the Real Base of US Global Power?
The U.S. is a global leader in a large measure because of its prowess in science and technology.
March 28, 2020
When Brezhnev Comes to America: Gerontocracy in Action
Today’s U.S. Republicans are the equivalent of the Brezhnev crew in the late-stage Soviet Union. It, too, fought very hard to uphold political ideas decades after they had passed their sell by date.
March 17, 2020
Coronavirus and Political Leadership: The US Gerontocracy in Action
The age structure of the U.S. political leadership cannot be described by any other word than as a gerontocracy. This conjures up images of the late-stage Soviet Union.
March 17, 2020
(In)Famous Western Alliances with the Soviet Union/Russia
Soviet Communists and the Nazis collaborated in the 1930s. Why on earth is Trump’s America now pursuing another shameful alliance with an utterly anti-liberal force?
December 21, 2019
After Gallagher: The Pentagon Faces a Big Purge
Trump clearly wants to set enlisted men against their commanders. He wants them loyal not to the Constitution, but to himself personally.
November 27, 2019
Poland’s Catholic Neo-Communists
PiS aims to create a repressive, homogeneous society not much different from the late unlamented Polish People’s Republic -- albeit in the name of Jesus Christ, not Karl Marx.
November 14, 2019
How Trump(!) Could Save America
Imagine Trump gave a speech exposing all of his shenanigans as a shocking reality TV exercise – exposing the hollowness of the U.S. principle of checks and balances.
July 21, 2019
Trump’s Military Pomp: A Sign of Weakness
Trump’s penchant for military parades harks back to the old unlamented Soviet Union.
July 8, 2019
Trump Has Turned America into an Evil Empire
In sidling up to Putin, Kim, MBS and other autocrats, Donald Trump is taking “his” United States firmly over to the side of the bad guys -- A July 4th reflection.
July 4, 2019
Wall Street and Trump: Two Erratic Forces, Acting in Sync
U.S. stock prices have exhibited a pattern of behavior as erratic as that of the U.S. commander in chief.
June 11, 2019
How Donald Trump Is Losing the Trade War
Imitation is the highest form of flattery. Trump is not so much fighting China on trade as turning the U.S. into China.
May 31, 2019
Does the US President Lead a New Axis of Evil?
Under Donald Trump, the times when U.S. administrations acted as a force for global good are fast becoming a faint memory.
May 14, 2019
The Republicans-Trump-Putin Love Triangle
Why does the sitting U.S. President continue to praise Putin and show him great signs of deference?
May 8, 2019
US and UK: The End of Progress
Without belief in progress, the US and the UK have little chance of retaining their global leadership. Nor do they seem to want it any longer.
March 16, 2019
Trump Going to Jail? It Would Boost Trumpism!
The rule of law is no restraint on Mr. Trump – its only legitimate purpose in the eyes of the Trumpistas is to shackle his opponents.
March 11, 2019
US: Will Donald Trump Follow Maduro’s Path?
Washington could be hurtling toward a Venezuela-style disaster, thanks to the utter disregard Donald Trump has for any rules of democracy.
February 20, 2019
Done with Trump’s Socialism
Trumpism may be closer to Soviet communism than you think.
February 13, 2019
Trump’s Wall and Israel’s Wall: Unpleasant Parallels and Consequences
America’s border wall with Mexico is meant to keep illegal immigrants, crime and drugs out. It will only succeed in keeping Americans in.
February 8, 2019
Reagan Vs. Trump: Two Entertainer-Politicians Compared
Where Reagan was a pro, Trump is an amateur. While Reagan was principled, Trump is anything but.
February 3, 2019
Is Trump a Russian Agent?
Putin didn’t even have to recruit Trump for his project of destabilizing the United States. Americans are doing a great job of achieving it themselves.
January 18, 2019
Trump’s Next Move: Purging the U.S. Military?
The only force that could stop Trump if he ever tried to violate the Constitution would not be the Democrats, but probably the U.S. military.
January 10, 2019
Welcome to a New Kind of War
Russia is indeed at war with the Western alliance, one that it has unilaterally unleashed.
September 1, 2018
Donald Trump: The Nigerian Scammer
The tools President Donald Trump uses to build his electoral base and to keep it intact are borrowed from Nigerian scammers.
August 16, 2018
Trump Vs. the Koch Brothers
Are the Koch brothers going to be devoured by the very same radical forces on the right-wing of Republican politics that they helped spawn?
August 7, 2018
Trump: A New Reagan? Or a New Chamberlain?
Trump is the worst appeaser since Britain’s Neville Chamberlain. He is weakening the United States, emboldening its enemies and shattering the world order.
May 26, 2018
Trump’s Stalinist Roots
Making personal loyalty the measure of all government, as Donald Trump does, was tried in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.
May 18, 2018
Trump: A Perfect Republican
Trump embodies many of the nasty or deceitful trends that have long moved the Republicans away from the path of political virtue.
April 3, 2018
Putin’s Goal: Bankrupting America?
Was Putin’s talk of a Russian miracle weapon merely meant for domestic consumption ahead of Russia’s March presidential elections? Or does he pursue another goal with his move?
March 10, 2018
Donald Trump and His Banana Republic
To Trump, the broad masses of the American people are ultimately no better than Mexico’s poor. All he really desires is the approval of the billionaire class.
January 11, 2018
US: Government by the Military?
Is the role of the Pentagon and its former brass under Trump similar to the former KGB in post-Soviet Russia?
October 27, 2017
The Other Twin Towers: Trump and Wall Street
Donald Trump and Wall Street are both at big-time bubble stage. When they come crashing down, that could deal a severe blow to the entire world.
September 26, 2017
The US Democrats’ Failing Turnaround Strategy
Trumpism, like most radical right-wing movements, is fueled by resentment, not economics. Trump voters are like Russians voting for Putin.
July 28, 2017
Trump: Will He Be Nailed on a German Cross?
What role does Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank, and financier of the Trumps and Kushners, play in the potential downfall of the U.S. President?
July 26, 2017
Trump: Pro-Israel and Yet Anti-Semitic
Trump’s supporters fear diversity and complexity. They want simple answers and simple solutions. That’s bad news for Jews in the US.
March 1, 2017
Trump and Putin’s New “Oligarchic International”
Putin cares as little about Russia as Trump does about America. They only care about making the world safe for the super-rich.
January 21, 2017
What Contemporary Art Tells Us About Trump
Art has an uncanny ability to predict the future.
May 23, 2016
Forget Trump: Austin Powers for President!
A presidential impostor tries to sway the masses with buffoonery and deceit.
March 15, 2016
Why I’ll Be Voting for Trump
Democracies sometimes need pitchforks. Trump will be a bad enough leader to bring them out.
March 9, 2016
Trump’s Foreign Soulmates
Look at commodities-export strongmen like Chavez and Putin if you want to understand Trump.
February 18, 2016
Trump and Palin: Is America Becoming an Oil Kleptocracy?
That such a substantial number of Americans want to see Trump as their president is an alarming signal.
January 20, 2016
U.S. Economy: A Money Laundering Operation?
America is emerging as safe haven for the world’s super-rich and their money - honest and ill-gotten alike.
January 12, 2016
The End of the Age of Reason?
The United States, Russia, the Islamic State and the new irrational world.
January 5, 2016
Will the Obama Bubble Burst in Time to Get Sanders Elected?
Obama could have changed the US economic system again, but the Great Recession resulted in changes on a much smaller scale.
December 7, 2015
ISIS and Pre-Revolutionary Russia
Are radical Islamists heirs to Russian Nihilists?
November 20, 2015
The Martian: America’s Self-Delusion at its Silliest
The United States, capable of such a delusional self-image, deserves Donald Trump and Ben Carson.
November 7, 2015
Pope Francis: USA, Get Ready for a Leftist Revolution
Why have US political pundits been so off the mark during this presidential election cycle? Just look to Pope Francis.
September 23, 2015
Visions of Orwell in the Refugee Crisis
If we follow some of our politicians, the Middle Eastern refugee crisis threatens to turn us into pigs.
September 17, 2015
The Return of the “Ugly German”: Unavoidable?
Europe may fear Germany, but the European project needs it.
September 9, 2015
Writing a Russian Detective Novel
Developing a positive Russian male role model character after decades of demographic catastrophe.
August 22, 2015
Trump’s Chance at Making History
If Americans don’t take their democracy seriously, they are going to become a global laughingstock.
August 19, 2015
Vladimir Putin: The Antithesis of a Success Story
The annexation of Crimea may remain Putin’s only success in his Cold War against the United States.
March 18, 2015
Chelsea and Beyond: How the Rich Will Destroy Soccer
The excess of capital pouring into professional soccer will inevitably bring about its demise.
October 25, 2014
China Loves a Weaker Russia
Why may China want to support Ukraine - even if it means quarrelling with Putin?
September 16, 2014
Ukraine’s China Option
Should Poroshenko visit Beijing, as Richard Nixon once did?
September 2, 2014
What Stock Markets Tell Us About Russia
If economy is king, then Russia may be weaker than it seems.
August 18, 2014
Vodka: Market Riches After Communism
What role did vodka play in restructuring Russia's economy after communism?
August 3, 2014
Vodka: Sobering Up the USSR
How did restrictions on vodka consumption speed up the collapse of communism?
August 2, 2014
Russia Through the Vodka Glass
Can Russia's recent history be explained through a vodka glass?
August 1, 2014
The Bolshevik Roots of the U.S. Tea Party
America’s Red Dawn, via the Republican Party.
June 1, 2014
Crimea: What Could Have Been
Vasily Aksenov’s 1979 utopian novel “The Island of Crimea” in today’s context
March 16, 2014
Advantage China: Putin’s Dangerous Crimea Precedent
Putin's intervention in Crimea re-opens the door to territorial China's claims on Russia
March 16, 2014
Russia and China: Who’s the Boss in the Relationship Now?
While China performs as a responsible part of the global economy, Russia revels in its pariah status.
March 14, 2014
Ukraine and Ireland: Overcoming Mighty Neighbors
What do Ukraine and Ireland have in common, in their struggles with Russia and the UK?
February 8, 2014
Liberty Vs. Safety: A False Choice
Why respecting rights and operating accountably makes security agencies more effective.
January 6, 2014
A Modest Proposal to Save Detroit
Why not create a national park in Detroit dedicated to unbridled free-market policies?
November 24, 2013
Wall Street Wants the Fed to Save it From Itself
When BlackRock talks, people should be listening.
October 31, 2013
The Russia Putin Grew Up In
A work of fiction, Murder at the Dacha, portrays a Russia of the past — and the present.
October 20, 2013
Pope Francis Vs. Putin
Who can U.S. archconservatives now rely on to defend traditional values?
September 21, 2013
Russia and Egypt: Stunning Parallels
A key comparison on the global relevance of the slow-motion Arab Spring.
September 11, 2013
1913-2013: How Russia Botched an Entire Century
Could Russia have been as successful as the United States?
September 5, 2013
Urbi et Gorbi
Why does former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev not get credit for ending the Cold War?
November 11, 2009
Fuel Economy in the United States: Eyes Wide Shut
Is it really worth it for the United States to import more oil to fuel inefficient gasoline engines?
October 19, 2009
Putting Putin Into the Context of Russian History
How did Putin — like his predecessor Catherine the Great — turn Russia's gaze inward rather than westward?
May 5, 2008
Absolutely Private
How did the Swedish come to beat the Russians at their own game — making vodka?
April 9, 2008
Will Putin Be Next?
After the murders of journalist Anna Politkovskaya and ex-KGB colonel Alexander Litvinenko, who will be next?
December 5, 2006
America as Nueva Andalusia
Can the United States learn a valuable lesson for its future from the Muslim world's past?
May 13, 2005
How Russia Met the World
Why has Russia historically been so slow to adopt Western ideas?
August 3, 2004
Is Manhattan in Europe?
Have Russians turned London into a theme park for the rich and famous of the world?
March 18, 2004
Kids Packing Bags For the Empire?
What kind of future is the U.S. education system preparing young Americans for?
February 28, 2004
Crisis in U.S. Baseball: East Germany Revisited?
Can steroid-using baseball players sue their teams and league — just like former East German athletes now sue some German institutions?
February 19, 2004
America’s Foreign Legion
How could the United States outsource military operations in Iraq to keep human and monetary costs manageable?
January 29, 2004
Moscow's Expat Ironies
How does an expatriate view his native country after a near 30-year absence?
November 29, 2003
Truth in Advertising
What is the new Citigroup ad telling investors about the latest rally on Wall Street?
October 9, 2003
Condoleezza Rice's Professional Future
What might be the U.S. National Security Advisor's next job?
September 16, 2003
New York’s Farcical Blackout?
Was the Blackout of 2003 a repeat of the 9/11 tragedy and the Blackout of 1977?
August 24, 2003
A European Peace Plan for Iraq
Would Europe and Iraq be better positioned if Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi ruled in Baghdad?
August 11, 2003
Boot Camp — Or: The Ideology of Russian-Americans
What makes a Russian émigré a staunch supporter of advancing a U.S. empire?
August 7, 2003
Russia and the Middle East Quartet
Does a Russian fable illustrate the West's Middle East policy?
May 3, 2003
Global Safety Worries: The Moscow View
Why does Moscow all of a sudden feel safer than Washington, DC?
March 29, 2003
Bush and Dostoevsky
What can a classic novel by Dostoevsky reveal about George W. Bush's motifs in attacking Iraq?
March 20, 2003
The Lasting Appeal of Ellis Island
Has visiting Ellis Island become a more difficult journey for tourists than it was for immigrants?
February 1, 2003
Canada’s New Assertiveness
Is Canada asserting its identity when it criticizes the U.S. foreign policy?
January 15, 2003
Russia's Jews Find Acceptance
How did the fortunes of Russia's Jews change over the past two centuries?
October 23, 2002
Cruising the Caribbean
How much has first-class sea travel changed in the past century?
August 4, 2002
Is California in Europe?
Would the state of California do better as part of the European Union?
July 23, 2002
Barry Goldwater and Me
How did Barry Goldwater turn the life of a Soviet student upside down?
July 21, 2002
America's French Disease
Can you imagine Americans' outrage if they find out their favorite food may be loaded with carcinogens?
June 11, 2002
The 2001 Spaso Odyssey
Do you think the Americans should pay fair market value for the Spaso House?
October 15, 2001
New York’s Tower of Unity
What would be a fitting memorial for the victim of the September 11 attacks?
October 8, 2001
America — A Warrior Nation?
Despite the tough image, is the United States up for a prolonged war against terrorism?
September 30, 2001
The Fallout Beyond America
What are the global implications of the attacks on New York and Washington?
September 18, 2001
Taking Sam to Moscow
How does a six-year old New Yorker think of his father's Russian home?
September 10, 2001
Vladimir Putin’s Suspect Family Lineage
Can Vladimir Putin's namesake relations reveal more about his political style — and future?
August 20, 2001
Revolutionaries and their Hobbies
What would have happened if some of the world's top revolutionaries had stuck to their initial profession?
August 13, 2001
Luxembourg — Venice of the North
What makes landlocked Luxembourg the true heir to mighty medieval Venice?
August 10, 2001
Airbus to the Rescue
How does Airbus boost the U.S. economy by competing with Boeing?
August 3, 2001
Urbi et Gorbi
Why does former Soviet leader Mikhael Gorbachev not get credit for ending the Cold War?
July 25, 2001
IMF and the Imelda Marcos Shoe Museum
How can the IMF best avoid becoming a scapegoat in every financial crisis?
July 20, 2001
Condi, the Spice Girl
Can Condoleezza Rice achieve for U.S. foreign politics what the Spice Girls achieved for Brit Pop?
July 11, 2001
Russia’s Old Money and New Money
What's a Russian to do when he finally finds his fortune after a lifetime of poverty?
July 2, 2001
Mr. Marx of Argentina
Is it helpful or rather a hindrance when your country's finance minister is named Marx?
June 25, 2001
Propping Up Turkey
Why is accession to the European Union the only cure for Turkey's ailing economy?
May 21, 2001
The Drugstore Capital of the World
How did the pharmacy giants turn into major players in New York City's new drug war?
May 14, 2001
Citibank’s Marketing Metamorphosis
In post-bubble America, how has Citibank set the new standard for marketing financial services?
March 15, 2001
U.S. Tax Cuts — A Global Perspective
What could other countries do with a tax cut of $1.6 billion?
February 27, 2001
U.S.-Russia: Friends or Foes?
Are Russia and the United States becoming more and more alike?
February 22, 2001
New York City’s Limits to Growth
Has the Big Apple and its growth capacity finally peaked?
February 8, 2001
The Globalization of Language
How important is learning a foreign language in a globalized world?
February 5, 2001
Russia Comes to California
Does Russia outperform California when it comes to relying on market forces?
January 29, 2001
The Cubanization of America
How have aging jazz musicians contributed to America's " latinization"?
January 1, 2001
Mexico’s Virtual Border
Does a border still exist between the United States and Mexico?
July 17, 2000
Same Song, New Words
How much can the Russian national anthem tell you about the country's volatile history?
January 2, 2000