Elina Ribakova
Elina Ribakova is a Non-resident Fellow at Bruegel. She specialises in global markets, economic statecraft and economic sovereignty, European Union strategic autonomy, Russia and Ukraine.
She speaks English, French, Latvian, Russian and Spanish.
She is also a Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a Director of the International Affairs Program and Vice President for foreign policy at the Kyiv School of Economics. She has held several senior-level roles, including deputy chief economist at the Institute of International Finance in Washington, managing director and head of Europe, Middle East and Africa Research at Deutsche Bank in London, leadership positions at Amundi (Pioneer) Asset Management, and director and chief economist for Russia and the Commonwealth for Independent States at Citigroup. Prior to that, she was an economist at the International Monetary Fund in Washington (1999–2008), working on financial stability, macroeconomic policy design for commodity-exporting countries and fiscal policy. Elina holds an MSc in Economics from the University of Warwick and an MSc in data science from the University of Virginia.
Featured work
Europe’s Untapped Arsenal
Europe and the Iran war
What does the conflict mean for inflation, oil prices, the economy and Ukraine?
Ukraine, Europe and the new economics of war
By maintaining stability and innovating to hold out against Russia, Kyiv has shown that size matters less in conflict than it used to
Rebuilding Ukraine: international support, defence and recovery
As Russia’s war on Ukraine continues, how are EU and international partners helping to finance recovery and support reconstruction in a conflict zone?
Why Russia’s economic model no longer delivers
A contracting economy and low oil prices are signs of potential constraint on Russia’s ability to maintain its military capabilities
How the war in Ukraine is reshaping EU-China relations
How the war is influencing Europe’s strategic and economic ties with China and Russia
Using the financial system to enforce export controls
Russian imports of battlefield goods that are subject to export controls, including from Western producers, have surged since mid-2022
Use the financial system to enforce export controls on Russia
Use the financial system to enforce export controls on Russia
Prohibition of Western tech exports to Russia is not working; rapid measures are needed to tighten up
EU trade and investment following Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine
The oil price cap and embargo on Russia work imperfectly, and defects must be fixed
Violations of the G7 price cap on Russian oil are becoming evident, but Western countries still can tighten rules and reduce the cash flows to Russia.
Sanctions against Russia will worsen its already poor economic prospects
Sanctions, coming on top of longstanding domestic shortcomings, are gradually weakening Russia.
How useful have the EU’s financial sanctions on Russia been?
A reflection on the impact of sanctions against Russia, one year since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
How have sanctions impacted Russia?
In this paper we assess both the immediate economic impact and the likely longer-term impact of sanctions on the Russian economy.
Sanctions on Russia two months in
A further look into sanctions on Russia and the implications for the global financial system.
War in Ukraine: China-Russia relations
A special episode of the Sound of Economics Live on China-Russia relations in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey’s economic struggles
Will inflation continue to surge?
Macroeconomic outlook: are we back on track?
Summary of the macro outlook based on Commission forecasts and analysis of the global picture.
Credible emerging market central banks could embrace quantitative easing to fight COVID-19
Emerging economies are fighting COVID-19 and the economic sudden stop imposed by the containment and lockdown policies, in the same way as advanced ec
COVID-19’s shock for emerging economies
COVID-19 is by far the biggest challenge policymakers in emerging economies have had to deal with in recent history.
All work
Opinion piece
02 April 2026
Podcast
02 March 2026
Europe and the Iran war
What does the conflict mean for inflation, oil prices, the economy and Ukraine?
Event
27 January 2026
Securing Ukraine’s future in Europe: Ukraine’s defence industrial base opportunity
What opportunities exist for investing in Ukraine's defence industry?
Opinion piece
08 December 2025
Ukraine, Europe and the new economics of war
By maintaining stability and innovating to hold out against Russia, Kyiv has shown that size matters less in conflict than it used to
Podcast
23 July 2025
Rebuilding Ukraine: international support, defence and recovery
As Russia’s war on Ukraine continues, how are EU and international partners helping to finance recovery and support reconstruction in a conflict zone?
Analysis
16 July 2025
Why Russia’s economic model no longer delivers
A contracting economy and low oil prices are signs of potential constraint on Russia’s ability to maintain its military capabilities
Podcast
26 March 2025
How the war in Ukraine is reshaping EU-China relations
How the war is influencing Europe’s strategic and economic ties with China and Russia
Working paper
30 April 2024
Using the financial system to enforce export controls
Russian imports of battlefield goods that are subject to export controls, including from Western producers, have surged since mid-2022
Opinion piece
18 April 2024
First Glance
16 April 2024
Use the financial system to enforce export controls on Russia
Prohibition of Western tech exports to Russia is not working; rapid measures are needed to tighten up