Jim Rodgers, one of the best investors (plus, one of my heroes), is bullish about Russia.
I agree with Jim Rodgers but I am not going to invest in Russia right now for two reasons.
First, Putin...Yes, he has improved the Russian economy and brought back pride to Russia. But with his dictatorship style and corruption, I don't see a bright future in Russia in the near future. Bloomberg shows that many of those who oppose Putin were either incarcerated, kicked out, or killed. Now this is a big red flag! Until Russia starts handling with its corruptions, establishes rule of law, and starts reforms, Russia will be crippled by corruption.
Second, Russia's economy is heavily dependent on energy. According to Wikipedia, Oil-and-Gas industry accounted for 16% of the GDP, 52% of the Federal Revenues, and 70% of exports. With the oil prices quite low, the Russian economy will not recover. Although the oil price ($50) is higher than the estimated Russian oil production cost ($40), the economy cannot grow and oil prices can stay low for quite sometime
Hence, although I remain optimistic about Russia (+10 year horizon), I will not invest in Russia until corruptions are somewhat addressed and oil price starts picking up.
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