Interesting…
Shocking list of things happening in Russia.
(From a WaPo no less)
[-Investment is soaring because Russian oligarchs have nowhere else to park their money
-Tourism and restaurant business are flourishing.
-Oil/gas exports are robust. Europe apparently is buying Russian energy through intermediaries like India & Turkey.
-Chinese goods have replaced Western products; and yuan has replaced dollar and Euro.
-In January, the IMF said that Russian economy will *shrink* by 2.3%. Now, the same IMF says that Russia's GDP will grow by 2.2%.
-Budget deficit is insignificant (1% of GDP)
-And Putin's approval rate up]