[flight_from_kamakura]

not to get too off topic here, but russia is fine, indeed, if there's a recession, russia will be better off than most states (probably making a relative gain). a vast and reasonably diverse domestic industrial/manufacturing sector combined with a large portion of the world's mineral, energy (not just oil) and timber resources make the russian economy pretty resilient. the mess in the 1990s wasn't so much about the economic fundamentals as it was about widespread corruption, gangsterism and kleptocracy. and now that the "oligarchs" and government have consolidated their positions, it should be a while before we see any significant economic worries over there.