Archive for the ‘Russia opportunities’ Category »
I’ve taken some time to get away from the fabulous city of Prague, the cultural and financial center of the Czech Republic, to dig into the wilder side of the country.
I took a three hour train ride to Teplice mab Metuji, right on the border with Poland. This little town is known for its sandstone monoliths, which are very similar to the formations in Bryce Canyon, Utah. The park was really beautiful, especially with the mist and drizzle hanging deep in the pine trees.
Anyone taking a trip to Prague should set aside the time to get up here and unwind…
After a nice hike, I hit the restaurant, or resterace, of my hotel. There I hooked up with some fellow travelers for a game of cards. They taught me how to play “Screw Your Neighbor”.
It’s not a hard game to learn, and I did well, but as I sat and thought about it, I found it very ironic that I was playing a game called “Screw Your Neighbor” and in the morning I would be heading on to Krakow, Poland.
You see, Poland’s being given the evil eye right now. Russia is a bit peeved that the former Soviet state agreed to the U.S. plan for a defensive missile shield. The Czech Republic will also build a radar system the will link in the the missile shield technology.
An area the size of Rhode Island with a population smaller than Pawtucket has caused Russia a whole lot of trouble.
South Ossetia, with only 1,500 square miles of territory and 70,000 “citizens”, claimed independence from Georgia on November 28, 1991. Russia officially recognized the territory’s independence on August 26, 2008, twenty days after Russian troops entered the region to defend South Ossetia’s population from Georgian forces.
Less than a week later, investors in Russia were headed for the hills… And they’re still running.
The EU, currently headed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, is trying to make Russia comply with the ceasefire agreement and withdraw troops. According to a BBC news report, “Some European leaders have already warned there can be ‘no business as usual’ with Russia until the peace plan is fully implemented, and the European Union has suspended talks on a new partnership agreement with Moscow.”
That’s going to be a bit difficult when it comes to Russian energy supplies, however. Russian natural gas accounts for 40% of all EU imports.
And if conflict continues into winter, it truly could be a Cold War between Russia and the EU if the Bear turns off the spigot. That’s why the EU is rushing around the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean like mad trying to scare up energy supplies and pipeline partners.
It’s All About Oil… Of Course.
Conspiracy theorists, meet the Nostradamus of Novels: Tom Clancy.
My colleague and fellow analyst, Christian DeHaemer, and I were reading up on the latest news from the South Ossetia conflict between Russia and Georgia. We were passing articles back and forth, trying to determine what was really at the heart of the matter, and how it would affect the markets.
(Turns out, Russian markets aren’t taking it too well… The ruble fell 1.6%.)
Then Chris turns to me and asks, “Have you ever heard of Ghost Recon?”
Back in 2001, military science novelist, Tom Clancy designed a video game called Ghost Recon. Here’s the story’s timeline…
The Russian Democratic Union, consisting of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, is formed in 2007, with the goal of reuniting the former Soviet Union states. Action comes to a head in April 2008, when ultra-nationalists seize total power in Russia and begin invading the Baltics and Georgia. U.S. Special Forces join with rebel factions in Tbilisi, Georgia, but can’t hold back the Russian tide…
Earlier today, in real life, Russian planes flew over the presidential palace in Tbilisi.
This coincidence gave me chills. You can check out the real timeline for the current conflict in this article from Reuters.
The Georgian president, Mikhail Saakashvili, says this conflict, in which Russia is supposedly supporting a separatist faction in Abkazia (an area in South Ossetia), is because Russia wants to control energy routes through the Caucasus.
The Eastern Nuclear Bloc
The word nuclear stirs up all kinds of fears nowadays… Everything from Chernobyl to Iran comes to mind, and the fallout is – in my opinion – mostly political.
So what does it say when nine countries in central and southeast Europe take up the atom?
We’ve heard that China wants to build 30 new nuclear reactors over the next 15 years, and now news has hit the public that Russia will spend $40 billion to boost its nuclear power sector over the next seven years…
But have you heard that Turkey, long-pressed by an energy shortage, has plans to build three nuclear plants? By September 24, it will close the call for bids to build the first nuclear plant in the country.
