Russia's economy: Poor little rich kids

As the economy deteriorates, even oligarchs are suffering RUSSIANS are hardly falling over themselves to watch Dmitry Medvedev’s weekly televised talks. Muscovites, it seems, would prefer a Hollywood movie. For one thing, Mr Medvedev has little positive to say. Oil prices have stabilised above $40 a barrel and Russia’s two main stock indices have rallied a little. But the torrent of grim economic news flows on. Industrial output continues to collapse, unemployment keeps rising, wage arrears are growing fast—and some big companies may be on their deathbeds. No wonder Mr Medvedev now calls the downturn “a sort of endurance test”. “We have a lot of problems, so nobody can relax,” he conceded in his latest fireside chat. Unemployment, he said, had reached some 6m, or 7.5% of the labour force. One recent poll found one in three Russians was expecting to lose their job in the coming months. Industrial output (which includes oil and minerals) fell by a painful ... (link)