Archives for September 2011

But Always, A Hero Comes Home

This in about Politics, and tagged , , , was written by on September 24, 2011 . 154 Comments

The King returns. As this is breaking news, please feel free to discuss this breaking news while I write up a more substantive post. In summary: (1) I was 75% wrong. (I gave Putin a 25% of returning to the PM; I thought the likeliest scenario would be for DAM to continue). (2) That said, […]

The Russophobes Were Right… (About The Wrong Country)

This in about Demographics, and tagged , , , , was written by on September 17, 2011 . 87 Comments

After peaking in 2007 at the height of its oil boom, the Russian economy slid off the rails, with GDP collapsing by 25% from peak to trough. Attempts to stem the decline by arresting pessimistic economists failed. Its image as a tiger economy, heavily promoted by Kremlin ideologues, was revealed to be a sham. Though […]