I was reading the Moscow Times the other day and thought that those of you in the US may find this article interesting. I'm sure many, if not all, of you are now familiar with the oligarchs of Russia. If not, here is the Cliff's Notes version. When Russia privatized its businesses, approximately 25 or so individuals purchased nearly all the business assets. How did they do it? Well, the privatization was done through a voucher system, meaning that every Russian citizen received a voucher with which they could 'invest' in any company that they desired. These 25 individuals ended up with the most vouchers (due to most people being willing to trade them for, well, a bottle of vodka) and, therefore, the most assets. Over the course of the past 5 or so weeks, these 25 individuals have collectively lost over $230B. I'm sure the figure is much more now that oil is trading below $75 and the other commodities are being hit as well.
Yes, Olga received a voucher. No, she did not sell it for a bottle of vodka. She invested it in a bank. UGH! Yes, that bank went bankrupt. Therefore, no, we don't have a fortune waiting for us in a bank here...at least no that I am aware of. Remember, she is Russian!
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1009/42/371599.htm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081016/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_what_crisis_1st_ld_writethru
To answer your the obvious question raised by the second article, no I have not seen empty shelves in the grocery stores. But I will admit that the selection at one of my most frequented the other day was pretty sparse!
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