Apropos ruskog propadanja - pošto je neko već zaspamao topic:
Russia ended 2006 with its eighth straight year of growth, averaging 6.7% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Although high oil prices and a relatively cheap ruble are important drivers of this economic rebound, since 2000 investment and consumer-driven demand have played a noticeably increasing role. Real fixed capital investments have averaged gains greater than 10% over the last five years, and real personal incomes have realized average increases over 12%. During this time, poverty has declined steadily and the middle class has continued to expand. Russia has also improved its international financial position since the 1998 financial crisis. Over the past several years, Russia has used its stabilization fund based on oil taxes to prepay all Soviet-era sovereign debt to Paris Club creditors and the IMF. Foreign debt has decreased to 39% of GDP, mainly due to decreasing state debt, while commercial debt to foreigners has risen strongly. Oil export earnings have allowed Russia to increase its foreign reserves from $12 billion in 1999 to some $315 billion at yearend 2006, the third largest reserves in the world. These achievements, along with a renewed government effort to advance structural reforms and fiscal restraint, have raised business and investor confidence in Russia's economic prospects. Russia's economy grew 6.6% in 2006 and inflation growth was below 10% for the first time in the past 10 years. Russia shows signs of increasing its ties to the global economy, having signed a bilateral market access agreement with the US as a prelude to possible WTO entry
Izvor: CIA World Factbook
Očigledno je da je nakon kriznih 1997. i 1998. Rusija krenula silovito napred, a način na koji je to ostvarila jako podseća na kineski model: kapitalizam koji je strogo kontrolisan iz jednog apsolutističkog centra moći. Nažalost, u takvom uredjenju stradaju i neke elementarne ljudske slobode i gradjanska prava. Organizovani kriminal je u sprezi sa državom, nema govora o nekakvoj stvarnoj demokratiji, dok se meni lično čini kao najveći problem nepostojanje nezavisnog sudstva. To mi je uvek prvo merilo o koliko se "slobodnom društvu" zaista radi.