Moscow Times is running a multi-part series. Putin’s Legacy. This is the opening text from their story on Putin’s management of the Russian economy:
These are extraordinary times. Less than 10 years ago, Russians were looking bleakly into the future, their savings wiped out and their confidence shattered in their country’s government and banking system.
Now, amid jittery global stock markets and a dramatic reversal in fortune for most of Wall Street’s powerhouses, the shoe is on the other foot. Russia’s economy is more insulated from the rout than most of its emerging-market rivals, and the country is molding a new role for itself.
Speaking at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin rammed the point home, noting that Russia would emerge as “an island of stability” amid the gathering storm.
Rout? Gathering storm?
Not to worry.
As they say, “Been down so long, looks like up to me.”
Great line!