By Kathy Lally – While the euro zone stands on the precipice of financial disaster, Russia looks on with a safely balanced budget, very little debt, a steady ruble — and a shudder of fear.
Russia’s economy relies on oil — 60 percent of gross domestic product — and a deep recession in Europe would drastically slash demand and price, forcing major cuts in government spending and threatening to provoke widespread social protest. For several years, the leadership has been talking urgently about its intentions to diversify beyond natural resources, without actually doing anything.
Now, the threat of a deeper crisis in Europe is forcing Russia to get serious. more> http://tinyurl.com/csdw327
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