Trade Relations Between Russia and Central-Eastern European Countries

The article focuses on trade relations between Russia and Central and Eastern European countries - the new EU members. Their development has not yet been adequately addressed in the economic discourse, neither in Russia nor abroad. Based on extensive statistical material, an analysis of evolution of these relations is provided and the issues of their commodity structure evolvement are analyzed. The study suggest that the current state of Russia's trade relations with the CEE countries does not correspond to the economic potential of the partners. In order to significantly increase trade turnover and correct its asymmetric structure, it is necessary to modernize and diversify the Russian economy, establish currently almost non-existent cooperation ties between Russian and Eastern European companies and to increase investment cooperation, which in recent decades has become a major factor in the development of world trade. One of the important prerequisites for transforming the current trade pattern between Russia and the CEE-8 countries lies in the sphere of relaxing the animosities and easing the tensions that exist in the relations between Russia and the EU.