The new issue of Russian Analytical Digest includes contributions by Olga Masyutina and Ekaterina Paustyan, and Michael Rochlitz. In their analysis, Olga and Ekaterina discuss how imperfections in Russian political and economic institutions undermine the efforts to solve the mounting problem of household waste in Russia. Michael Rochlitz looks at Russia’s economic challenges and argues that the Russian government has no coherent long-term strategy for addressing them.