| Low and stable TV prices point to Russia's economic isolation |
||||||
Maybe Russia should be thankful for the 1998 financial crisis. Its economic isolation following devaluation of the rouble and default on its debt in August 1998 was once a problem. Now it will probably be a boon. Any global recession caused by America's new war is unlikely to hit Russia hard
"How can the price of a TV in Russia be a fraction of that in Japan?" asks Yukos chairman Mikhail Khodorkovsky. "It is because the Russian economy is not integrated into global markets. If the Japanese hike prices on TVs in Tokyo, there will be price increases in Manila within two weeks, but in Moscow the prices stay the same."
It is a hole that Russia has been trying to climb out of for the last two years.