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Post by russkiivoin on Jun 6, 2006 12:45:07 GMT -5
I was very surprised when I learned this myself as well. |
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Post by russkiivoin on Jun 6, 2006 13:06:23 GMT -5
Interesting discussion. R.Voin, I understand your point of view, but I tend to agree more with Jaromir. Well, what i would say is that my point of view is based completely on pragmatism, it has no idealogical components. I think the term used for the kind of state you advocate is " the Nanny State", where the bureaucracy gets to decide what's "best" for the individual and treats it's citisens as children in need of guidance.....Personally I'd be happier if the role of the "do-gooders" is limited. The consumption of alcohol or smoking is to a large degree a cultural trait combined with aggressive marketing by the producers of those products. If you want to counter it, the best way is to promote health & fitness at a early age and reinforce that message to teenagers. I tend to be very libertarian in my views as well. However in our case this is no longer a matter of ideology or I would argue even public health. It's a matter of survival. No system or form of government is worth a damn if it leads to the physical destructions of its people (BTW I think this applies directly to liberal democracy). This problem can only be solved by the government and it has to be solved. I agree with what you said regarding the causes of smoking and drinking. We already know what is effective and what is not in stopping this. We just have to do what's necessary. --------------------- " the less alcohol you drink -- the longer you live".......I'm willing to bet any money that a person drinking a moderate amount of alcohol will be healthier than someone drinking Coke or any other soft drink. Why stop at alcohol and tobacco, when is the "nanny state" going to tackle the root causes of most modern disseases: ** hydrogenated vegetable oils ** refined sugar ** white bread.....and so on First of all for the record, beer and wine contain as much or sometimes more sugar then soft drinks. That's beside the point however. The clear difference is all the things you listed are foods, alcohol or tobacco are not. To me that's a very clear distinction. For the most part people eat food for sustenance, however people smoke and drink to help them deal with their emotions, boredom, depression, etc. Obviously this is clearly something that needs to be at the very least limited in our society. Now that you mention it however, I would most certainly be in favor of banning GM and artificial foods. |
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Post by Яромip on Jun 6, 2006 15:14:23 GMT -5
I try to be the same way.
I simply don't see how an organization that brought us to this ruinous state can be reformed and salvaged to reverse the damage. If nothing else, it would be a completely different State Structure while still being called "government". It would resemble modern "government" about as much as an airplane resembles a train.
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Alek
Polkovnik
Mozecie mnie uwazac za prawoslawnego, Polak-Prawoslawny, Orthodox.
Posts: 1,097
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Post by Alek on Jun 7, 2006 7:45:53 GMT -5
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Post by russkiivoin on Jun 8, 2006 16:18:27 GMT -5
I simply don't see how an organization that brought us to this ruinous state can be reformed and salvaged to reverse the damage. If nothing else, it would be a completely different State Structure while still being called "government". It would resemble modern "government" about as much as an airplane resembles a train. Well a government is the only social institution that is capable of inducing change on this scale. I'm not talking about any government specifically either. I'm only saying that there is defiantly concrete scientific data that proves certain social policies are very effective in limiting drinking, smoking, etc. |
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Post by Lonevolk on Jan 18, 2008 4:04:58 GMT -5
A promising outlook for the Russian economy according to this analysis
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Russia as a safe haven
12:34 | 17/ 01/ 2008
MOSCOW. (Financial analyst Anatoly Gorev for RIA Novosti) - The future is bright for the Russian economy and stock market, according to Alfa Bank analysts. "Investors who bring their money to the Russian market, even without choosing specific shares, will profit by about 30%," they say in their forecast.
Alfa-Banking Group is one of Russia's largest privately owned banking groups in terms of equity, assets, branches, retail deposits and funds under management.
This is a good but not extraordinary profitability, especially compared with the past three years, when the Russian Trading System (RTS) stock exchange grew by 70% annually.
But the promised growth of 30% may nevertheless make Russia a safe haven for foreign investors.
"Safe haven" is one of the terms that have been especially widely used in the past decade. It is increasingly interpreted as "a financially secure offshore bank or country during times of extreme uncertainty, or when domestic banks are suspected of becoming insolvent."
It should be not only safe, but also sufficiently large to offer a high level of liquidity. Investors search for such havens during global financial crises, such as the 1997-1998 Asian crisis, which began in Southeast Asia and later spread to Russia and Latin America, where it provoked defaults and created precedents for the devaluation of national currencies.
Another relevant example is the dotcom crisis in the United States in late 2000, which pushed the American economy into recession and slowed down the economic growth of its main trading partners in the European Union.
The latest shock to the global financial system came from the mortgage crisis in the United States, which froze stock markets and put into question the efficiency of bank refinancing mechanisms.
The difference between the above three crises is that in the latter case Russia was seriously considered as a safe haven. This is logical, as the 1997 Asian crisis provoked a default on domestic, and partially foreign, state debts in Russia, and an unprecedented plunge on the stock market and a subsequent economic depression.
At that time, Russia was viewed as a troublemaker rather than a safe haven. Although investors' attitude to Russia improved slightly in the early 2000s, none viewed the country as a suitable refuge during the dotcom crisis. Russia was unanimously considered unpredictable and vulnerable. However, the 57% average growth of the Russian stock market in 2001-2006 forced investors to revise their attitude, both to the market and the Russian economy as a whole.
Analysts say that Russia is now in a unique position to benefit from the current economic climate. It is safely insulated from the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States, and continues to benefit from high - and growing - oil prices, which will definitely exceed the ceilings stipulated in the Russian budget.
Forecasts promise continued economic growth in Russia, of 6.5% annually, and a 15% increase in its gold and foreign currency reserves, to a total of $535 billion.
The consumer boom is also expected to push the Russian economy to new highs, while international investors will seek to insure their risks by moving funds from American and European assets to highly profitable and safe instruments. The latter include Russian shares, especially the stock of mining companies, bank securities, and the like.
Alfa Bank's analysts say political stability in Russia is one of the positive strategic factors. Along with the majority of experts, they do not believe that the upcoming presidential elections will produce major quakes in Russia's political life. A radical change in its economic policy also seems unlikely after the elections.
"The election of [First Deputy Prime Minister] Dmitry Medvedev as president of Russia appears to be the most probable scenario, in which case [President] Vladimir Putin will agree to become prime minister. This promises four more years of political stability in Russia," the bank's forecast says. "If this scenario is followed, we expect accelerated implementation of priority national projects in infrastructure development, housing construction, healthcare and agriculture, as well as redoubled efforts to encourage growth in manufacturing."
However, even a country that claims the role of a "safe haven" cannot be absolutely free from economic trouble. Alfa Bank's analysts single out inflation as Russia's biggest worry. It exceeded planned levels in 2007, and with neither the prices of commodities nor the influx of petro dollars likely to subside, the government may also fail to restrain the growth of prices in 2008.
But this does not scare potential investors.
The only thing that can seriously darken Russia's prospects is that it is not the only country vying for the role. Competition comes from the rapidly growing economies of China and India, and possibly some Arab countries, which, like Russia, are prospering from record-high oil prices.
International investors' interest in them is growing, yet, say the analysts, Russia looks attractive even against this background, because its economy is more diversified and banking system better developed.
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Source: RIA Novosti
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
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Post by CHORNYVOLK on Jun 8, 2008 15:54:13 GMT -5
Moscow global financial hub
13:56 | 08/ 06/ 2008
ST. PETERSBURG, June 8 (RIA Novosti) - Plans for turning Russia's capital into a global financial hub will be drawn up in the next few weeks and presented to the leadership, a presidential aide said on Sunday.
President Dmitry Medvedev, speaking at the International Economic forum in St. Petersburg on Saturday, said that turning Moscow into a world financial center and the Russian ruble into a leading regional reserve currency are central to building a competitive financial system in the country.
Presidential economic adviser Arkady Dvorkovich, speaking to TV channel Vesti-24 on the sidelines of the forum, said the plans "are already being prepared, and in the next few weeks will be put on the desks of the prime minister and the president."
The draft document "will address all aspects of this work, including legislation, financial regulation, and tax regulation," and will offer proposals on solving infrastructure problems and measures to "attract the global financial community to the process of forming such a sector in Moscow," Dvorkovich said.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, running from June 6-8 this year, is an annual event held with the support of by the Russian president, bringing together politicians and business leaders. Russian news agency RIA Novosti is the general information sponsor of the forum.
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Post by CHORNYVOLK on Jun 9, 2008 8:30:25 GMT -5
St. Petersburg to launch commodity exchange in July-August
15:38 | 09/ 06/ 2008
MOSCOW, June 9 (RIA Novosti) - St. Petersburg will launch a raw materials and commodity exchange in July-August, expected to have turnover of around 1.5 trillion rubles ($63 billion) by the end of the year, a first deputy prime minister said on Monday.
"The volume of trade will rise continually. By the end of the year, we can expect the trading volume to reach 1.5 trillion rubles," Viktor Zubkov, a former prime minister, said on Monday.
Zubkov said the exchange, which was presented at the June 6-8 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, will start off with a trial period.
In the first stage, only petroleum products will be traded, and trade in construction materials, grain, and mineral fertilizers will begin at a later date. All commodity trade will be conducted in rubles, he said.
The idea of setting up a commodities exchange was put forward in May 2006 by then-president Vladimir Putin.
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Alek
Polkovnik
Mozecie mnie uwazac za prawoslawnego, Polak-Prawoslawny, Orthodox.
Posts: 1,097
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Post by Alek on Nov 22, 2008 8:56:44 GMT -5
Na zdrowie!  |
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Alek
Polkovnik
Mozecie mnie uwazac za prawoslawnego, Polak-Prawoslawny, Orthodox.
Posts: 1,097
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Post by Alek on Jun 15, 2009 9:43:11 GMT -5
VODKA
" Yes, it is true, we Russians can drink much more of vodka than the Westerners, who prefer to sip alcohol beverages deluted with something. Perhaps, it is because we have a stronger stomach, a better health, and a more severe climate.
Anyway, the story of 'Russian alcoholism' is greatly exaggerated. The 'drunkards' could have never managed to launch the first Cosmonaut in Space, it is absolutely evident."
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jul 15, 2013 12:24:11 GMT -5
Couldn't find a fitting thread for this, so I made a new one. That happens once in a while...^^
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Medvedev Lauds Russia’s 5th Place in World Bank’s GDP Rating.
MOSCOW, July 15 (RIA Novosti) – Russia has been ranked as the world’s fifth largest economy by GDP based on purchasing power parity, winning praise on Monday from Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
The World Bank’s new GDP rating published last week ranks the United States as the world’s largest economy by purchasing power parity last year with $15.7 trillion, followed by China with $12.5 trillion, India with $4.8 trillion, and Japan with $4.5 trillion.
According to the rating, Russia overtook Germany last year to rank fifth with $3.4 trillion, versus Germany’s $3.3 trillion. In 2011, Russia’s GDP based on purchasing power parity totaled $3.203 trillion, compared with Germany’s $3.227 trillion.
“I’ve just looked at the news story that Russia has moved to fifth place in the ranking of the world’s largest economies by GDP, edging out Germany. I don’t know the methodology that the World Bank used, probably by purchasing power parity, but this is good news,” Medvedev said.
The World Bank’s rating differs from the nominal GDP rating compiled by the International Monetary Fund, where Russia ranks only eighth with $2 trillion while the US is at the top with $15.7 trillion, followed by China with $8.2 trillion, Japan with $6 trillion, Germany with $3.4 trillion, France with $2.6 trillion, the United Kingdom with $2.4 trillion, and Brazil with $2.4 trillion.
In the World Bank’s rating, gross domestic product is converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates, considering that $1 can buy a different number of goods and services depending on the country. In less advanced countries, $1 can buy a larger number of goods, which makes Russia rank higher compared with the nominal GDP rating.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Feb 27, 2014 17:50:00 GMT -5
Official Sees Sliding Ruble Adding $10Bln to Russian Treasury.
MOSCOW, February 27 (RIA Novosti) – Steady weakening of the ruble will contribute to inflation, but may also boost revenues to the Russian treasury by $10 billion, a senior finance official has predicted, according to a report in a daily newspaper Thursday.
Since the federal budget for 2014 assumed an exchange rate of 33 rubles to the dollar, a weaker domestic currency will add a massive surplus to state funds, Deputy Finance Minister Tatyana Nesterenko was cited as saying by the Izvestia newspaper.
If the exchange rate sticks to at least 35 rubles to the dollar – 2 rubles higher than the assumed exchange – the budget will get 360 billion rubles ($9.98 billion) more than planned, Nesterenko said.
The ruble fell to new record lows in trading on Wednesday, reaching an all-time low of 49.4 rubles against the euro and a five-year record of 36 rubles to the dollar.
A study by Moscow’s Higher School of Economics published earlier this week predicted even larger additions to the budget, saying that the ruble could slide further to 37 rubles per dollar by the end of 2014, boosting federal income by $28 billion and pushing the state treasury into surplus.
A devaluation of the ruble lowers expenditures on domestic spending, such as pensions, in comparison to tax revenues generated from commodities priced on the world market, such as oil.
While pushing prices for import, the sliding currency is expected to ease pressure on a government that has had to contend with the prospect of spending cutbacks in coming years amid stagnant growth.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Apr 14, 2014 13:42:37 GMT -5
Russia needs to break world monopoly of rating agencies – Deputy PM.
RT.com
April 14, 2014 14:15
Russia desperately needs to create its own ratings agency, independent of the so-called western ‘Big three’ – Moody’s, S&P and Fitch, Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has said.
“There is a dream, and there is an extreme need. When you face an ultimate need, it becomes a reality. This project [ Russia’s own rating agency - RT ] is necessary in any case to avoid speculation that somebody depends on eastern countries and others – on western,” Igor Shuvalov said in an interview to Forbes magazine.
“The system shouldn’t be monopolized. What happens now with the rating agencies is in practice a world monopoly, and any monopoly is bad,” the First Vice Premier added.
Russia’s annexation of Crimea has caused huge turbulence across the globe, with western countries refusing to acknowledge the move as legal. The reaction varied from a temporary halt of Visa and MasterCard operations with some of Russia’s sanctioned banks to downgrades by the rating agencies.
Most recently S&P downgraded Crimea to a default rating and withdrew its ratings altogether. Then Crimea’s Communications Minister Dmitry Polonsky said the move was part of a broader “information war” against Russia and the Black Sea peninsula, as western countries refuse to accept Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
At the end of March Moody’s put Russia’s sovereign credit rating on revision with a downgrade outlook, saying the Ukraine crisis was eating into the economy.
In the Forbes interview Shuvalov also talked about some “extreme opinion that for example says that the rating agencies are influenced by western governments, and they in any case have already received certain signals to downgrade Russia’s rating,” but refused to elaborate on that.
Currently there are a few domestic rating agencies in Russia like Expert RA, RIA rating and Moody’s Interfax Rating Agency - a joint venture between Moody’s Investors Service and Interfax – but so far none of these has a loud say in a global arena.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Apr 14, 2014 14:15:35 GMT -5
Russian banks vote for national payment system from the scratch.
RT.com
April 14, 2014 18:38
Banks polled by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) say they want a completely new domestic payment system created from scratch instead of using one of the three systems already in the works.
Last week the Central Bank polled a number of Russian banks on the national payment system (NPS), says the Vedomosti daily.
The result showed that most of Russian lenders voted against developing one of the already existing platforms:The PRO 100 payment system used for Universal Electronic Cards, Golden Crown and Union Card.
The regulator suggested creating a non-profit organization together with the commercial banks and the payment systems, both national and international to run it.
While the Russian authorities are trying to speed up the development of Russia's national payment system, which would shield it from further disruptions by Visa and MasterCard, market players say most banks are now just looking to buy time.
"Probably, not all the banks really want the payment system to be created from the scratch, but all precisely want to gain some time and see where the wind blows. There is nothing surprising that there is no vote: UECARD, or Universal Electronic Card, is not architecturally ready to become the national payment system (NPS)," the director of card business department of one of the banks participating in the poll told Vedomosti.
According to Accenture analysis UECARD is only 40 percent ready. To get NPS status the project needs an essential upgrade according to Accenture. "It’s important to sustainably increase the staff number, to develop and implement business processes, to raise level of automation and provide many other improvements," says the analysis.
The daily volume of card operations reaches about 20 million actions per day, or 200 transactions per second. In high volume periods the load can increase by up to 5 times, says Accenture.
It would also be necessary to create a backup data processing center for continuity of service should a disaster happen.
“The UECARD wasn’t planned as the NPS project,” Dmitry Ter-Stepanov, the UECARD vice president explained. The development will require from half-a-year to year. According to him it’s faster than creating the NPS from scratch.
The NPS will be discussed on Wednesday by the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
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Jun 28, 2022 15:35:39 GMT -5
Jun 28, 2022 15:35:39 GMT -5
