| From Nytimes.com: A few years ago, Vladimir V. Putin, as president, compared the energy riches of Siberia to a piece of candy held tightly by Russia, as if in a “sweaty fist.” However much investors might want it, it was off limits. Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Reserve Fund, is down to $26 billion — not enough to cover even half of the projected 2011 budget deficit.
Yet just last month, Mr. Putin, now prime minister, said Russian officials “understand that we need foreign investment.”.............................................Full Article: Source
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