Frozen Economic Assets! Power to the East!

So I'm reading the Financial Times. Trying to keep up with this viscous financial mess we are trapped in at the moment. So, I always knew the Russians have kept themselves at a political distance to the rest of the world for reasons, which we, the western backstabbing business people, are not able to completely follow. There is always the speculation that the Russians are still entertaining the idea of Gulag's which are responsible for keeping their economy going and the gap between their social classes steep. So this is the western man's view. The man who has all over again induced a global financial crisis, to overcome oil quarrels and brush toxic investments under the carpet. The man, who has let 23 year old hot blooded traders onto the finance floor and let them sell air,. (Kinda digressing here). Still FYI the Russians are actually blaming the Yanks for the crisis... hmm. (again digressing)

So the Russians, not so stupid and no Gulags. But what they have is extortionate amounts of raw materials which the rest of the world would love to get their greedy little fingers on. People underestimate the size of this country and its vast amounts of vegetation and undiscovered nature. So here the The Financial Times are reporting on a new World economy, which will include a lot more Russian Exports and therefore Power. The reason for that is this vast nation has a lot to offer:

- Russians have an estimated 1,669,000bn cubic feet of natural gases (it is also said it is the country with the world's largest reserve)

- Russia holds the world’s largest Nickel reserve. (Doesn’t tell the general end consumer a lot but believe me Nickel is power)

- Not the mention it is now the worlds largest diamond country producing 33 bn carats, leaving Botswana behind who is second with 29bn carats....hmmm.

- Also its vast Caviar production makes it very attractive (believe me that stuff is being traded at high Dollars)

- It also has quiet a lot of Krude Oil, supplying most of Europe with its vast amounts of Oil, it has become a secret superpower, almost like China.

- Russia entertains one of the world’s largest Telecom companies who also produce energy (???)

The list goes on and on.

One last thing the Russians seem to produce en-mass are billionaires. The "new-rich". No manners, mostly with military background and therefore well connected men who drink a ridiculous amount of vodka. Did I mention that the average Russian consumes about 15.2 liters PURE Alcohol per year? (believe me we don’t, it says so in the Economist) (Digressing again...)

Underestimating such power is almost rude and foolish but the green-eared Western trader is particularly good at it. Instead of seeking alliances, we condemn them for their economic decisions and political actions. Their government works on manly, more capitalist fundamentals then most other governments. It is a first-come first-serve methodology, which allows anyone with a bit of gut to make some money and have a piece of the big Russian pie.

So the FT has included a little magazine which reports on a few global facts which will influence the way markets and economies will change. It also tries to factor in, which countries will be pioneering in green-economies. Our previously communist comrades, Russia and China, are right at the top.

Finding out that close to the North Pole (Russian Territory) has vast amounts of Oil doesn't surprise us, but now they are planning on harvesting this oil in the most green way possible. So a lot of American and European engineers are offering their skills to find a way to pump this oil out of their reserves without the usual pollution that comes with the rigs.

These kind of "frozen assests" have appeared over the past 20 years (among with the list I have provided above) and secured Russia's place in the world economy. It is on the move towards the top, mostly battling it out with China. Soon the world language will change from English to Mandarin or Russian and we will all become alcoholics who are trying to do the Barynya instead of shaking hands. So all I can say is "Budem zdorovy"!