[Eli]

Medveved tells police to keep a lid on things

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered police on Friday to stamp out any social unrest or crime arising from the global financial crisis.

"We have a stable state ... We do not need a return to the 1990s when everything was boiling and seething," Medvedev told a meeting of senior officials.

"The law enforcement agencies should keep track of what is happening," he said.

"And if someone tries to exploit the consequences of the financial crisis ... they should intervene, bring criminal charges. Otherwise, there won't be order."

The longest economic boom in a generation has helped the Kremlin maintain political stability but some analysts say the financial crisis could give rise to a wave of social unrest.

Russia's benchmark RTS <.IRTS> stock exchange has fallen about 70 percent since May, making it one of the worst performers among emerging economies.

High oil prices which fueled Russia's economic boom have fallen from a peak of over $140 in July to just over $60 now.

This will increasingly be the focuses of countries around the world, China and Russia are first in line of the submerging economies.

[dorlomin]

The oligarchs have been taking a huge pounding during all of this. It seems a roll back to a Soviet Russian Republic. Id guess its much better than the anarcho capitalism of the 90s. What I do worry about is the sense of a growing hyper nationalistic movement in Russia though. From a distance it all looks a little like a form of facism. Its certainly not comunism nor with the internationalist idealistic outlook of the old USSR.

Id not like to be a muslim minority in Russia.

[Eli]

With Putin waiting in the wings to step back into power (not that he is not still in power) Russia will become a lot more dangerous in the future. Europe will be in trouble.

Nothing helps business and a country rich in resources like a good war, puts people to work builds industry gets rid of unemployment.

[dorlomin]

With Putin waiting in the wings to step back into power (not that he is not still in power) Russia will become a lot more dangerous in the future. Europe will be in trouble.

Nothing helps business and a country rich in resources like a good war, puts people to work builds industry gets rid of unemployment.

The EU massively outnumbers Russia and this is especialy true in youth numbers. What is more in technology the EU utterly outclasses Russia. And then there are nuclear weapons. Its very hard to fight a war when everyone has thermonuclear weapons, or could obtain them in a matter of a 2 years or less.

In terms of game theory the cost vs risk of Russia going to war is appaling. Even if they seized say Poland, what would the benefit be? WW2 and Iraq provide a template for how to form a resistance to bleed an occupier. Its easy and cheap to do if your passing weapons to the occupied country. The Russians do not remotely have the manpower to occupy Germany and France let alone cross the channel.

Russias long term stratagy is survival. It will not survive by threatening the EU. They have coal, lots of it. They have access to Middle Eastern gas. If Russia is too initimdating the cost of developing paralel infrastructer to circumvent any future Russian blockade of gas is massively cheaper than the slow bleeding by over pricing. But Putin is no fool. He is just about the cleverst world leader around. He knows he has a symbiotic relationship with the EU. There economies need to grow too afford his gas and oil. His concerns and ambitions are totaly confined to his near abroad. The old USSR. Id bet his current goals are the splitting of Ukraine so that the ethnic Russian part comes back into the fold, Belaurs coming back then simply ensuring that Russia is the route for Kahzak and other central asian gas to pass through to European markets.

Putin has too big problems. A large domestic muslim population that is resltess and seeks independence in many cases and China sitting on his Eastern flank. I think you have too Occidentalist a world veiw. Russians dont suffer this blindness. Remember Stalins 40 best divisions faced the Japanese until November 1941.

[threadbear]

With Putin waiting in the wings to step back into power (not that he is not still in power) Russia will become a lot more dangerous in the future. Europe will be in trouble.

Nothing helps business and a country rich in resources like a good war, puts people to work builds industry gets rid of unemployment.

Doubt it.

[Snowrunner]

With Putin waiting in the wings to step back into power (not that he is not still in power) Russia will become a lot more dangerous in the future. Europe will be in trouble.

Nothing helps business and a country rich in resources like a good war, puts people to work builds industry gets rid of unemployment.

Russia has nothing to win by going to war with anybody really.

They don't have the numbers, they do still need technology and a market for their raw materials.

The 1.x billion Chinese will sooner or later want expand (need to).

Then there is this little problem with the one child policy in China which essentially has a lot of testosterone without an outlet which needs to be sedated sooner or later.

If you are looking for a war, look to China, they have the most to gain and indeed may even have a need to go for it.

[eastbay]

With Putin waiting in the wings to step back into power (not that he is not still in power) Russia will become a lot more dangerous in the future. Europe will be in trouble.

Nothing helps business and a country rich in resources like a good war, puts people to work builds industry gets rid of unemployment.

Russia has nothing to win by going to war with anybody really.

They don't have the numbers, they do still need technology and a market for their raw materials.

The 1.x billion Chinese will sooner or later want expand (need to).

Then there is this little problem with the one child policy in China which essentially has a lot of testosterone without an outlet which needs to be sedated sooner or later.

If you are looking for a war, look to China, they have the most to gain and indeed may even have a need to go for it.

... and tens of millions of recently unemployed... maybe even a hundred million or more fairly soon they way the world economies are deteriorating.

They can't be allowed to run amok protesting. They must be offered something to do.

[WyoDutch]

"Crack down"??? You mean stuff like reading the citizen's mail... listening to their phone calls... the power to arrest a citizen and toss them into the black hole of some military gulag without being charged?

Oh wait... That's not Russia, that's America under Bush.

Sorry

[frankthetank]

Russia has about every resource imaginable, lots of nukes, lots of land... along with 100's of billions of dollars/euros/etc... What they don't have is a huge population... The weather also sucks. They should really think about taking over Australia...just invade it and enslave the people there...rename it...

[Ronin]

They should really think about taking over Australia...just invade it and enslave the people there...rename it...

Bring It On!!

[Snowrunner]

Russia has about every resource imaginable, lots of nukes, lots of land... along with 100's of billions of dollars/euros/etc... What they don't have is a huge population... The weather also sucks. They should really think about taking over Australia...just invade it and enslave the people there...rename it...

You may want to take a look at the southern part of Russia, quite nice weather there

Their thinning population numbers is really the biggest problem and I can't see how Putin (or anybody else) could reverse that trend. The Goldrush of the 90s had a lot of people leave and I doubt many want to return especially if they have established themselves someplace else.

Siberia already sees many Chinese immigrants, more will undoubtly follow, give it a generation or two and Russia may have been taken over "from within".

[fiedag]

Russia has about every resource imaginable, lots of nukes, lots of land... along with 100's of billions of dollars/euros/etc... What they don't have is a huge population... The weather also sucks. They should really think about taking over Australia...just invade it and enslave the people there...rename it...

Yep because in the Siberian permafrost thaw, the country with the biggest potential for increased land availability, really needs to take over a desert continent which has just lost its biggest river system...

Why not do what the Chinese do? Buy up and ship out all the resources they need in return for plasma TVs and plastic toys.