EDITORIAL
Uninsurable Russia
Streetwise Professor tips us to a recent report from Reuters which concludes that the Kremlin’s neo-Soviet nationalization of resources has made the country “uninsurable.” The reports states:
Madagascar, Ecuador, Kyrgystan and others have also seen examples of expropriation or effectively forced renegotiation that have worried insurers. However, in some other countries — such as Brazil or South Africa — a slight rise in leftist rhetoric has had less impact on premiums. The industry is particularly concerned over risks in Russia, where extractive projects have become almost uninsurable.
This is what Vladimir Putin has done to his country. It is uninsurable (which means that normal business can’t be done there) and it is mentioned over and over again in the same breath as Ecuador. And in fact, it makes Ecuador look good by comparison. Putin’s Russia is degenerating by the minute into a banana republic, except that instead of fruit Russia has natural gas.
Even as this report was being published, Putin was making outlandishly ludicrous statements about making Russia safer for foreign investment. This means that Putin is either a fool, or a liar. If he really wants to bolster the flagging Russian economy with foreign money, then his ignorance of the basic horrors that economy presents to foreigners is laughably stupid. If, on the other hand, Putin has no intention of allowing anyone, much less foreigners, to influence the Russian economy other than his own dictatorship, then his shameless lies are beneath the dignity of a world leader who asks to sit at the G-8 table.
Dima Medvedev, of course, is no better. He recently told Der Spiegel: “Our values are the same as yours. I don’t see any major differences in terms of freedom and human rights, especially in comparison to the new EU member states.” This has to qualify as one of the most outrageous and laughable falsehoods ever uttered by any world leader. Is Medevdev really unaware of how many times his country has been formally convicted after trial by the European Court for Human Rights of state-sponsored murder and torture? Does he really think foreigners don’t know about this horror, and aren’t terrified of Russia because of it?
How can Russia possibly hope to operate a “normal” economy if it won’t even try to recognize its own faults and reform? It can’t! And the feeble Russian economy can’t survive for long without foreign investment, because it simply can’t generate enough investment capital on its own.
La Russophobe 
Most of Russia’s low investment easy extraction oil has already been exploited due to over production since 2000 the reserves now left in Russia will need heavy capital investment over a trillion dollars. This investment will only come if oil prices are stable and reasonable high at around $100 per barrel if not foreign investors the big super nationals BP, Shell for example will not be interested. An interesting point did you know that Canada has oil reserves over 3 times larger than Russia but extracts two third less, this means Canada’s oil reserves have a life span of 170 years. This is the actions of a country with a diverse economy that does not have to plunder its natural resources to gain short term unsustainable benefits.
Adding to this companies like shell and BP have come under sustained politically motivated attacks since 2004, This prompted the then prime minister of Britain Tony Blaire to make a speech to the CBI in 2006 warning British companies not to invest in Russia.
As the article has stated Russia is tittering on the edge of an economic abyss, only a maniac like Putin would attack the international companies that have developed an industry that brings in 50% of Russia Revenue. This stupid fool Putin does not realise that his home grown oil companies TNK, Lukoil, for example do not have either the technology or financial resources to develop what remains of Russia’s oil reserves, and if the worlds 5 super nationals decide not to invest, Russia will face an economic collapse within a decade.
Russia doesn’t need filthy Western money.
Isn’t that what the USSR said before it collapsed into the ashcan of history?
“We don’t need your filthy Western money. But keep giving it to us anyway” hehe. brilliant.
The kremlin took the filthy western money to save moscow after the attack by the Nazis.
In that case you can always give your natural sources for free.
Mr KGB is typical of the Russian mind set, Now as an ordinary citizen we can forgive his stupidity, Most Russians can not speak English so rely on a largely state controlled media for their information, This try’s to fool the public into believing that Russia is an economic and military super power which it most certainly isn’t, Their economy plummeted by -10 % over the last 12 months, the only BRIC nation to suffer negative growth, Russia’s military budget is on a par with Spain they spend less than Britain, France, Italy and Germany,
Much has been made of the new START nuclear disarmament treaty currently being negotiated with the real super power the mighty USA; The USA is doing the Russians a favour here. Russia has not added to its nuclear arsenal since 1990 and 50% of their war heads will need to be decommissioned before 2020 anyway, as their shelf life will have expired and they will be more of a threat to the Russians than us.
As I said we can forgive Mr KGB’s ignorance, but the problem we all have is that Putin believes his own hype, this arrogance, this failure to recognise his nation’s weaknesses and limitations will ultimately lead to the final Russian collapse and the break up of this oversized federation.
R John
“Russian collapse and the break up of this oversized federation”.
Isn’t it the exactly your desire? What’s wrong with this then???
LR – in this editorial, I was very interested to read your comments about Putin being “either a fool, or a liar.”
May I respectfully add that that should read – ‘a fool AND a liar’.
And the Carpathian ovtseyob is the smartest and honourest creature in the world, right?
What language are you writing in? What’s “ovtseyob” and what does the word “honourest” mean? This is the English language blog, so please use English here
> what does the word “honourest” mean?
I actually meant ‘fairest’. Thanks for the correction.
> What’s “ovtseyob”
that’s the reference to the indigenous Ukrainian population.
Dear RV,
Ouch is your typical vulgar lying moskal {PRONOUNCED KATZAP}. The moskali visit this website with their profanities, because they think that cursing is “cool”. In fact, one of the few things that the moskali culture forced on The Ukrainian language is vulgar words.
ovtseyob = goatf*cker
Sincerely,
LES
Yes, this is quite gross. Maybe I belong to a generation when it was not considered proper to use language like that in polite company
Unlike the majority of this ‘polite company’ i don’t call to killings, don’t attack anyone personally and try to give answers on questions addressed to myself.
Otherwise I like USA and people there, and there’s enough true Americans that like myself and my country. So i don’t care much about the opinion of a bunch of Jewish expats.
Ah, the good old Russian racist bigotry rears its ugly head again.
Can you please explain what ‘racist’ did you notice in my words?
Usual Russian anti-semitism “So i don’t care much about the opinion of a bunch of Jewish expats”
Not unusal from the scum that inhabit Russia.
Can’t agree with you.
* some-nation they are all stupid – that’s racist.
* some-nation they are all smart – that’s also racist.
* i don’t care what people of some nation here think of me – that’s not racist.
Otherwise, ‘La Russophobe’ – isn’t it racist? Of course it is, so i don’t expect people beeing politically correct here.
Congratulations on your troll-feeding and thread-derailment, people.
Just another example of the “love” and “orthodox brotherhood” the russians have for their “little brother”, the Ukrainians.
I hardly doubt you’re an orthodox christian. So you just have no idea what you’re talking about.
And no, i don’t like these Ukrainian ‘little brothers’.
Thats OK, they don’t like you either.
Of course Russians are not really orthodox, they have too much state control of their KGB run “church” to be considered true Orthodox.
The Russian “church” is so twisted it even claims to have delivered the gospel to the Greek, Georgian, and Antiochian Orthodox Curches (the real Orthodox) despite the fact that they are centuries older than the Russians.
BTW, I am Orthodox.
Thanks, Andrew. You’re the perfect example of the “love” and “orthodox brotherhood” for mr. Gordon.
Oh, I have brotherly love for other Christians, its just that the Russian “church” twists the message beyond all recognition, you know like how “Mother Russia” is the third rome, about how it is Russia’s destiny to dominate Ukraine, Georgia et al.
So Ouch, go and play in the corner with yourself where you belong.
Stop irritating civilised people why don’t you?
Ok, ok. I feel i don’t belong to your ‘polite company’.
> ovtseyob = goatf*cker
Not exactly. ‘Ovtsa’ is not a ‘goat’.
Ok, i guess you know your people better.
I would suggest the English vernacular “sheepshagger” as a more accurate but slightly less obscene translation. No goats on the linguistic horizon here.
Ouch (ovtseyob), whatever you do it with, you already showed your breeding.
Stop bothering decent people (Andrew) and troll elsewhere like some Nashi Site.
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