Ruble Tumbles, Good Time to Buy Property in Central Siberia Along the Beijing to Berlin Railway

The Russian Bear will tend its temporarily withered Ruble.

Some folks are calling yesterday 'Black Tuesday' in Russia but beyond the chaos at high priced electronics and auto showrooms ordinary Russians remain unaffected. Ordinary Russians, the state workers and poorer people are Putin’s main supporters. They often don’t have savings and their expenses are in rubles. The ruble’s slide mostly hits the upper classes who holiday abroad and have savings. As well, the plunge might mean some of the oligarchy [who have been very big buyers in recent weeks] having to unwind some of their London property, whadda shame eh..

While the MSM reports: "Russian media across the country from St. Petersburg to Siberia reported exchange points running out of foreign currency and were experiencing a rush for dollars and euros." They never mention by who. That 'who' is the same non-Putin supporting 30% in Russia that it is here in Canada. In Canada they'd be loyal Harper supporters.

Russia’s Economic Development Minister Aleksey Ulyukaev said, "Speculative pressure has hit Russia as well as other emerging economies hard. The ruble’s Tuesday plunge indicates 'certain calculations and expectations of market players." He's not worried, why should he be, Russia has the largest resource base in the world and it's just signed huge energy contracts with China and India. The world needs Russia a lot more than it needs currency speculators.

Russia has some short term currency problems but as Russia’s Central Bank Chair Elvira Nabiullina says, "The plunging ruble is a signal for the Russian economy to adapt to new conditions. We must learn to live in a new reality, to focus more on our own resources to finance projects and give import substitution a chance." Import substitution is an economic plan to produce more domestically, as imports are now much more expensive for Russians given the weak currency.

Nabiullina predicts a 5% recession this coming year, but in the longer run that would help Russia, just as such a setback in cheap imports can and will help Canada's internal economy and employment prospects. The same situation is going on in every petro-state right now. It could lead to more chaos or it could be exactly the opening needed to shift toward a localized, hand made, perma-culture type new economic order.

Russia and Putin have been playing this whole thing very cool but they are obviously in the Empire's crosshairs. The Ruble attack will turn around, my advice to an old friend earlier was sell his 'portfolio' and buy a chunk of land in Central Siberia along the soon to be built Beijing to Berlin Railway.