This issue of Problems of Economic Transition continues the discussion and analysis of the problems confronting the economies of the post-Soviet states that have recently emerged.1 The former Soviet republics remain of great interest to Russia, which refers to them as its "near abroad." For Russia as well as for other post-Soviet states, integration is an important factor in the structural transformation and modernization of the economy. Despite the fact that for more than seventy years they have made up a unified political-economic entity and conditions have favored cooperation among the Soviet republics, post-Soviet integration remains weak. This has long been a cause of significant attention devoted to integration on the regional level, involving the interaction of groups of states that are closely related on geographical, cultural, and economic levels.2 Furthermore, the 2008 global economic crisis has led to a shift of political and economic priorities toward regional integration all over the world.
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