Oleg Deripaska? Oleg is one of the world’s richest men. Getting his Physics degree as the old USSR collapsed, then buying up shares in Aluminium smelters, getting an Economics degree and then setting up Basic Element, a vast metals empire, he somehow rid the company and industry of the Mafia, but no-one knows how. But […]
In the news today, although you’d hardly think so because of the Israeli / Palestinian conflict, is the story that the Ukraine can’t pay their gas bills. I apologise for it being a bit buried amongst the profits’ statements etc, but hey!, I didn’t write it. BBC – Gazprom sees profits jump by 85% GazProm […]
As a follow up to my earlier post us-nationalises-banks-while-russia-devalues-the-rouble-total-irony pointing out the sharp reversal in political and economic fortunes of the (former) two world superpowers, I remembered something from last month. An American friend decided to post a present for my family here in the UK. I (and then we) ended up having to pay […]
Miliband seeks backing on Russia Just to make everything crystal clear, Miliband, the new hope of the Labour Party, is now whizzing round various former USSR states and others to check what side they’re on in case of… …well, “in case of what?” – we should be asking ourselves! What good can possible come from […]
BBC News, this morning: Russian MPs back Georgia’s rebels (paraphrasing Mandy Rice-Davies) – well they would, wouldn’t they! Putin, the hand rocking the Russian cradle, must be happy, but not surprised… It was he who set the current format of the Upper House, the Federation Council in 2004 when, following the Beslan School Hostage Crisis […]
