superunknown23
Superstar
Historically, Vodka and sex are what keep Russians warm thru the winter... No wonder most Russians are born in the fall
Putin might intervene again like he did with Vodka prices
Last edited:
Another Big Win For Putin!!!
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Putin might intervene again like he did with Vodka prices
They're gonna hit him with the Ricin Umbrella/Polonium soup trickunless he converted that money into dollars before december... He's been gone since mid-October
got bread lines looking like 1992 out here
Self_Born7
SUN OF MAN
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Russian Default Risk Surges To New 6-Year Highs As Ruble Rubble Returns
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/06/2015 14:32 -0500
Just when you thought it was all over... Having bounced post-CBR intervention and somewhat stabilized, the re-collapse in crude oil prices and continued weakness in Russian macro data provided just the impetus for a re-plunge in the Ruble (back above 63.5/USD) and surge in Russian bond yields (back to 14%). While Russian stocks are also retesting towards recent lows, it is Russian CDS that is the most telling as it closed to day at 595bps - the widest since March 2009. While these violent gyrations are new for recent history, they are not a new phenomenon, but are quite characteristic of the country’s financial history.
The Ruble and stocks are not quite back to recent lows...
But Russian credit risk has hit new highs...
However, as RT explains, this is nothing new for Russia...
The dramatic fall of the Russian ruble made headlines in December. The violent gyrations in the ruble are not a new phenomenon, but are quite characteristic of the country’s financial history.
On December 15 and 16, the ruble took a 22 percent dive, which prompted a run on the Russian national currency.
The ruble’s spectacular 22 percent plunge on December 15 and December 16 has prompted investors to liken the crisis to 1998, when the ruble lost 27 percent on August 17. Reaching a 16-year low, the ruble fell to 80 against the USD. By the time of publication, it had recovered to 62.7, compared to 32.9 at the beginning of 2014.
800 years of history
One of Europe’s oldest currencies, the ruble has been in use since the 13th century. First made of silver, the currency derives its namesake from the Russian word ‘rubit’ which means to chop or hack, and originally was made from fragmented pieces of the Ukrainian hryvnia.
The ruble has been chopped, hacked, collapsed, and re-denominated several times throughout its nearly 800-year history. The most volatile years came along with regime change and revolution.
After the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, the ruble lost one third of its value, and in the following years while the country was gripped by civil war, the ruble dropped from 31 against the dollar to nearly 1,400. The ruble hit its historic low of 2.4 million per USD after the civil war and the year the revolution’s leader Vladimir Lenin died. It was re-denominated to 2.22.
Throughout the Soviet Union, the ruble was little used outside state borders, so the government kept the official rate close to the dollar, a massive overvaluation.
In the last years of the Soviet Union, the economic crisis caused panic among the population who were ‘stuck’ with their increasingly worthless rubles. A black market naturally developed, and while the official rate for the ruble was 0.56 per dollar, a single greenback actually sold for 30-33 rubles on the street.
From Soviet to Shock Therapy
The ruble collapsed along with the Soviet state, and different currencies were set up in the 15 different republics. The Central Bank of Russia replaced the State Bank of the USSR (Gosbank) on January 1, 1992 and the Russian ruble replaced the Soviet ruble.
The new Russian Central Bank set the official exchange rate at the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) at 125 rubles to the US dollar. By December 1992, the ruble had already lost about two third's of its value.
Russia’s post-Soviet economy was dominated by ‘shock therapy’, and as President Boris Yeltsin’s reforms spurred rapid inflation, millions of Russians lost their savings.
Boris Yelstin’s political infighting with the Communists in 1993 caused the ruble to slide more, down to 1,247 per 1 USD. Yeltsin won the political coup, and a constitution was signed on December 12, 1993.
Shortly after the political victory, in January 1994, the authorities banned the use of the US dollar and other foreign currencies in circulation in an attempt to stymie the ruble’s decline.
Black Tuesday and Black Thursday
On October 11, 1994, an event known as ‘Black Tuesday’ hit the Russian financial market, and the ruble collapsed 27 percent in one day, which on top of a decline in GDP and massive inflation, catapulted Russia into an economic recession.
By the end of 1995, chronic inflation had reached 200 percent.
In 1996 the currency closed at 5,560 rubles per US dollar. 1997 was the first year of relative stability, but the ruble still fell to 5960 rubles per dollar. An era of stability prompted the government to devalue the currency and slash 3 decimal places, and on January 1, 1998, the ruble was set to 5.96 against the US dollar.
The bottom was ready to fall out of the economy. On August 17, 1998, Russia announced a technical default on its $40 billion in domestic debt and ceased to support the ruble on the same day. At the time, the bank only had $24 billion in reserves. The stock market and ruble both lost more than 70 percent, and nearly a third of the country’s population fell below the poverty line.
Along with the default came another mass devaluation of the ruble. In six months the value of the ruble fell from 6 to the dollar to 21 to the dollar.
“There was a desire to escape from the ruble from any direction,” Sergey Aleksashenko, deputy finance minister under Boris Yeltsin, has observed. Aleksashenko says today’s ruble crisis reminds him of 1998.
On May 27, 1998, the Central Bank increased the main lending rate to 150 percent, which brought loans to a near halt. By the end of 1998, inflation was 84 percent and the Russia GDP lost 4.9 percent.
Both currency crises in the 90s forced the governors of the Central Bank to resign.
The 1998 ruble crisis, like today, was driven by falling oil prices, which went as low as $18 in August 1998. However, today's crisis is much less of a risk, as Russia has more than 10x the amount of currency reserves as it did in 1998.
The ruble met the new millennium with a rate of 28 to the dollar, and after hitting a low of 31 in 2003, started to slowly strengthen.
Recession: in, out, and in again?
In 2008, Russia along with the much of the rest of the world fell into recession, losing 7.8 percent of GDP in 2009. The Russian economy fared the crisis rather well, and the economy was back on track with 4.5 percent growth in 2010.
Russia is facing its biggest currency crisis since 1998. The ruble has mostly been tumbling in tandem with weak oil prices, which have nearly halved since June, when Brent crude went for $115 a barrel. In January, prices plummeted below $50 a barrel. The ruble has lost more than half its value since the beginning of the year. Investors worry that the devaluation, along with falling oil and political tensions, will send Russia into recession this year.
The Central Bank forecast a 4.7 percent decline in GDP if oil prices stay at $60 per barrel.
On December 15 the ruble plunged 11 percent, and to counter the plummet, the Central Bank increased the key lending interest rate to 17 percent, in the middle of the night. The next morning after slight gains in the early morning hours, panic against ensued, and the ruble shot up 22 percent, the biggest single day loss since 1998.
Russians called it ‘Black Tuesday’ in reference to the 1998 currency devaluation when the ruble jumped from 6 to the US dollar to 21 in less than 24 hours.
During his annual end of the year press conference, Russian President Putin didn’t place blame on any particular government department, but said the Central Bank’s response had been appropriate, but possibly too late. So far, Putin continues to describe the Central Bank’s policy as “adequate.”
The government has already made many swift moves to salvage the ruble since mid-December. It hiked the key interest rate to 17 percent to control ruble flows, has lent money to the company’s biggest oil producer, Rosneft, and bailed out the country’s 29th largest lender, Trust Bank.
Russia’s biggest oil producers, including Gazprom and Rosneft, have been ordered to sell a fraction of their foreign exchange revenues over the next couple of months in order to support the ruble, adding an estimated $1 billion to the daily market.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-...-surges-new-6-year-highs-ruble-rubble-returns
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/06/2015 14:32 -0500
Just when you thought it was all over... Having bounced post-CBR intervention and somewhat stabilized, the re-collapse in crude oil prices and continued weakness in Russian macro data provided just the impetus for a re-plunge in the Ruble (back above 63.5/USD) and surge in Russian bond yields (back to 14%). While Russian stocks are also retesting towards recent lows, it is Russian CDS that is the most telling as it closed to day at 595bps - the widest since March 2009. While these violent gyrations are new for recent history, they are not a new phenomenon, but are quite characteristic of the country’s financial history.
The Ruble and stocks are not quite back to recent lows...
But Russian credit risk has hit new highs...
However, as RT explains, this is nothing new for Russia...
The dramatic fall of the Russian ruble made headlines in December. The violent gyrations in the ruble are not a new phenomenon, but are quite characteristic of the country’s financial history.
On December 15 and 16, the ruble took a 22 percent dive, which prompted a run on the Russian national currency.
The ruble’s spectacular 22 percent plunge on December 15 and December 16 has prompted investors to liken the crisis to 1998, when the ruble lost 27 percent on August 17. Reaching a 16-year low, the ruble fell to 80 against the USD. By the time of publication, it had recovered to 62.7, compared to 32.9 at the beginning of 2014.
800 years of history
One of Europe’s oldest currencies, the ruble has been in use since the 13th century. First made of silver, the currency derives its namesake from the Russian word ‘rubit’ which means to chop or hack, and originally was made from fragmented pieces of the Ukrainian hryvnia.
The ruble has been chopped, hacked, collapsed, and re-denominated several times throughout its nearly 800-year history. The most volatile years came along with regime change and revolution.
After the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, the ruble lost one third of its value, and in the following years while the country was gripped by civil war, the ruble dropped from 31 against the dollar to nearly 1,400. The ruble hit its historic low of 2.4 million per USD after the civil war and the year the revolution’s leader Vladimir Lenin died. It was re-denominated to 2.22.
Throughout the Soviet Union, the ruble was little used outside state borders, so the government kept the official rate close to the dollar, a massive overvaluation.
In the last years of the Soviet Union, the economic crisis caused panic among the population who were ‘stuck’ with their increasingly worthless rubles. A black market naturally developed, and while the official rate for the ruble was 0.56 per dollar, a single greenback actually sold for 30-33 rubles on the street.
From Soviet to Shock Therapy
The ruble collapsed along with the Soviet state, and different currencies were set up in the 15 different republics. The Central Bank of Russia replaced the State Bank of the USSR (Gosbank) on January 1, 1992 and the Russian ruble replaced the Soviet ruble.
The new Russian Central Bank set the official exchange rate at the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) at 125 rubles to the US dollar. By December 1992, the ruble had already lost about two third's of its value.
Russia’s post-Soviet economy was dominated by ‘shock therapy’, and as President Boris Yeltsin’s reforms spurred rapid inflation, millions of Russians lost their savings.
Boris Yelstin’s political infighting with the Communists in 1993 caused the ruble to slide more, down to 1,247 per 1 USD. Yeltsin won the political coup, and a constitution was signed on December 12, 1993.
Shortly after the political victory, in January 1994, the authorities banned the use of the US dollar and other foreign currencies in circulation in an attempt to stymie the ruble’s decline.
Black Tuesday and Black Thursday
On October 11, 1994, an event known as ‘Black Tuesday’ hit the Russian financial market, and the ruble collapsed 27 percent in one day, which on top of a decline in GDP and massive inflation, catapulted Russia into an economic recession.
By the end of 1995, chronic inflation had reached 200 percent.
In 1996 the currency closed at 5,560 rubles per US dollar. 1997 was the first year of relative stability, but the ruble still fell to 5960 rubles per dollar. An era of stability prompted the government to devalue the currency and slash 3 decimal places, and on January 1, 1998, the ruble was set to 5.96 against the US dollar.
The bottom was ready to fall out of the economy. On August 17, 1998, Russia announced a technical default on its $40 billion in domestic debt and ceased to support the ruble on the same day. At the time, the bank only had $24 billion in reserves. The stock market and ruble both lost more than 70 percent, and nearly a third of the country’s population fell below the poverty line.
Along with the default came another mass devaluation of the ruble. In six months the value of the ruble fell from 6 to the dollar to 21 to the dollar.
“There was a desire to escape from the ruble from any direction,” Sergey Aleksashenko, deputy finance minister under Boris Yeltsin, has observed. Aleksashenko says today’s ruble crisis reminds him of 1998.
On May 27, 1998, the Central Bank increased the main lending rate to 150 percent, which brought loans to a near halt. By the end of 1998, inflation was 84 percent and the Russia GDP lost 4.9 percent.
Both currency crises in the 90s forced the governors of the Central Bank to resign.
The 1998 ruble crisis, like today, was driven by falling oil prices, which went as low as $18 in August 1998. However, today's crisis is much less of a risk, as Russia has more than 10x the amount of currency reserves as it did in 1998.
The ruble met the new millennium with a rate of 28 to the dollar, and after hitting a low of 31 in 2003, started to slowly strengthen.
Recession: in, out, and in again?
In 2008, Russia along with the much of the rest of the world fell into recession, losing 7.8 percent of GDP in 2009. The Russian economy fared the crisis rather well, and the economy was back on track with 4.5 percent growth in 2010.
Russia is facing its biggest currency crisis since 1998. The ruble has mostly been tumbling in tandem with weak oil prices, which have nearly halved since June, when Brent crude went for $115 a barrel. In January, prices plummeted below $50 a barrel. The ruble has lost more than half its value since the beginning of the year. Investors worry that the devaluation, along with falling oil and political tensions, will send Russia into recession this year.
The Central Bank forecast a 4.7 percent decline in GDP if oil prices stay at $60 per barrel.
On December 15 the ruble plunged 11 percent, and to counter the plummet, the Central Bank increased the key lending interest rate to 17 percent, in the middle of the night. The next morning after slight gains in the early morning hours, panic against ensued, and the ruble shot up 22 percent, the biggest single day loss since 1998.
Russians called it ‘Black Tuesday’ in reference to the 1998 currency devaluation when the ruble jumped from 6 to the US dollar to 21 in less than 24 hours.
During his annual end of the year press conference, Russian President Putin didn’t place blame on any particular government department, but said the Central Bank’s response had been appropriate, but possibly too late. So far, Putin continues to describe the Central Bank’s policy as “adequate.”
The government has already made many swift moves to salvage the ruble since mid-December. It hiked the key interest rate to 17 percent to control ruble flows, has lent money to the company’s biggest oil producer, Rosneft, and bailed out the country’s 29th largest lender, Trust Bank.
Russia’s biggest oil producers, including Gazprom and Rosneft, have been ordered to sell a fraction of their foreign exchange revenues over the next couple of months in order to support the ruble, adding an estimated $1 billion to the daily market.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-...-surges-new-6-year-highs-ruble-rubble-returns
that's one interesting game of chess.
Fourth Russian General Commits Suicide in Less Than a Year
BY DAMIEN SHARKOV 1/6/15 AT 1:10 PM
Men, dressed in historical uniforms, march past a serviceman during a military parade in Red Square in Moscow, November 7, 2014. MAXIM SHEMETOV/REUTERS
Lieutenant general Anatoly Kudryavtsev, a 77-year-old former serviceman in the Russian air force committed suicide in Moscow on Tuesday according to Russian police, becoming the fourth case of a former high-ranking Russian military officer taking his own life in less than a year.
Police in the Russian capital said that they had found Kudryavtsev’s body in his flat in southwestern Moscow. It’s reported that he had hung himself and left a suicide note explaining that he had suffered "excruciating pain" as a result of his stomach cancer and that he did not “blame anyone” for his death.
According to official records Kudryavtsev served in the air force until 1993.
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Although police are still investigating the case it bears a startling similarity to at least three other recent cases of retired Russian generals committing suicide in the last year.
In June, 68-year-old retired Russian secret service agent general Viktor Gudkov was found dead by police in his flat in southern Moscow. He appeared to have shot himself in the throat with a gun awarded to him for his military service in Chechnya.
Gudkov was reported to have suffered a “serious illness”, which was said to have caused him to fall into a depression, though his health problems had not been specifically diagnosed before his death.
Several months prior, also in Moscow, the highly decorated major general Boris Saplin, who retired in 1989, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a prize gun which had been given to him after his service in the Soviet-Afghan war.
According to police, he too was suffering from cancer, leaving a short suicide note in which he complainined of an “immense headache”.
Earlier in the year in February, retired rear admiral of the Russian navy Vyacheslav Apanasenko also shot himself in the head in his Moscow apartment after also suffering from stomach cancer.
Apanasenko was found by police and rushed to hospital, where he remained in critical condition for 10 days until he passed away. His suicide note alleged his wife had tried to procure the necessary drugs to treat his condition but had been unsuccessful. He wrote: “I do not blame anyone for this except the government and our health care.”
Meanwhile just last week the Russian Interior Ministry announced the most senior law enforcement official in Russia’s Mari-El region, Vyacheslav Buchnev had shot himself after returning early from his Christmas holiday.
Suicide has long been a major cause of death in Russia, but recent reports by the Russian Federal Statistics Service (Rosstat) suggests that suicide rates have nearly halved since their apex in 1994, when there were 69-85 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants.
Although statistics differ, Russia is often ranked as one of the worst countries in the world for sucide rate. While the World Health Organisation ranks Russia as the 14th worst, Russia’s own Serbsky State Research Center for Social and Forensic Psychology estimates the suicide rate as much higher, second only to that of Lithuania.
BY DAMIEN SHARKOV 1/6/15 AT 1:10 PM
Men, dressed in historical uniforms, march past a serviceman during a military parade in Red Square in Moscow, November 7, 2014. MAXIM SHEMETOV/REUTERS
Lieutenant general Anatoly Kudryavtsev, a 77-year-old former serviceman in the Russian air force committed suicide in Moscow on Tuesday according to Russian police, becoming the fourth case of a former high-ranking Russian military officer taking his own life in less than a year.
Police in the Russian capital said that they had found Kudryavtsev’s body in his flat in southwestern Moscow. It’s reported that he had hung himself and left a suicide note explaining that he had suffered "excruciating pain" as a result of his stomach cancer and that he did not “blame anyone” for his death.
According to official records Kudryavtsev served in the air force until 1993.
Try Newsweek for only $1.25 per week
Although police are still investigating the case it bears a startling similarity to at least three other recent cases of retired Russian generals committing suicide in the last year.
In June, 68-year-old retired Russian secret service agent general Viktor Gudkov was found dead by police in his flat in southern Moscow. He appeared to have shot himself in the throat with a gun awarded to him for his military service in Chechnya.
Gudkov was reported to have suffered a “serious illness”, which was said to have caused him to fall into a depression, though his health problems had not been specifically diagnosed before his death.
Several months prior, also in Moscow, the highly decorated major general Boris Saplin, who retired in 1989, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a prize gun which had been given to him after his service in the Soviet-Afghan war.
According to police, he too was suffering from cancer, leaving a short suicide note in which he complainined of an “immense headache”.
Earlier in the year in February, retired rear admiral of the Russian navy Vyacheslav Apanasenko also shot himself in the head in his Moscow apartment after also suffering from stomach cancer.
Apanasenko was found by police and rushed to hospital, where he remained in critical condition for 10 days until he passed away. His suicide note alleged his wife had tried to procure the necessary drugs to treat his condition but had been unsuccessful. He wrote: “I do not blame anyone for this except the government and our health care.”
Meanwhile just last week the Russian Interior Ministry announced the most senior law enforcement official in Russia’s Mari-El region, Vyacheslav Buchnev had shot himself after returning early from his Christmas holiday.
Suicide has long been a major cause of death in Russia, but recent reports by the Russian Federal Statistics Service (Rosstat) suggests that suicide rates have nearly halved since their apex in 1994, when there were 69-85 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants.
Although statistics differ, Russia is often ranked as one of the worst countries in the world for sucide rate. While the World Health Organisation ranks Russia as the 14th worst, Russia’s own Serbsky State Research Center for Social and Forensic Psychology estimates the suicide rate as much higher, second only to that of Lithuania.
Fourth Russian General Commits Suicide in Less Than a Year
BY DAMIEN SHARKOV 1/6/15 AT 1:10 PM
Men, dressed in historical uniforms, march past a serviceman during a military parade in Red Square in Moscow, November 7, 2014. MAXIM SHEMETOV/REUTERS
Filed Under: World, Russia, Suicide
Lieutenant general Anatoly Kudryavtsev, a 77-year-old former serviceman in the Russian air force committed suicide in Moscow on Tuesday according to Russian police, becoming the fourth case of a former high-ranking Russian military officer taking his own life in less than a year.
Police in the Russian capital said that they had found Kudryavtsev’s body in his flat in southwestern Moscow. It’s reported that he had hung himself and left a suicide note explaining that he had suffered "excruciating pain" as a result of his stomach cancer and that he did not “blame anyone” for his death.
According to official records Kudryavtsev served in the air force until 1993.
Try Newsweek for only $1.25 per week
Although police are still investigating the case it bears a startling similarity to at least three other recent cases of retired Russian generals committing suicide in the last year.
In June, 68-year-old retired Russian secret service agent general Viktor Gudkov was found dead by police in his flat in southern Moscow. He appeared to have shot himself in the throat with a gun awarded to him for his military service in Chechnya.
Gudkov was reported to have suffered a “serious illness”, which was said to have caused him to fall into a depression, though his health problems had not been specifically diagnosed before his death.
Several months prior, also in Moscow, the highly decorated major general Boris Saplin, who retired in 1989, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a prize gun which had been given to him after his service in the Soviet-Afghan war.
According to police, he too was suffering from cancer, leaving a short suicide note in which he complainined of an “immense headache”.
Earlier in the year in February, retired rear admiral of the Russian navy Vyacheslav Apanasenko also shot himself in the head in his Moscow apartment after also suffering from stomach cancer.
Apanasenko was found by police and rushed to hospital, where he remained in critical condition for 10 days until he passed away. His suicide note alleged his wife had tried to procure the necessary drugs to treat his condition but had been unsuccessful. He wrote: “I do not blame anyone for this except the government and our health care.”
Meanwhile just last week the Russian Interior Ministry announced the most senior law enforcement official in Russia’s Mari-El region, Vyacheslav Buchnev had shot himself after returning early from his Christmas holiday.
Suicide has long been a major cause of death in Russia, but recent reports by the Russian Federal Statistics Service (Rosstat) suggests that suicide rates have nearly halved since their apex in 1994, when there were 69-85 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants.
Although statistics differ, Russia is often ranked as one of the worst countries in the world for sucide rate. While the World Health Organisation ranks Russia as the 14th worst, Russia’s own Serbsky State Research Center for Social and Forensic Psychology estimates the suicide rate as much higher, second only to that of Lithuania.
that "stomach flu" aint no joke
8 January 2015 Last updated at 14:01 ET
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Russia says drivers must not have 'sex disorders'
Moscow street: Various mental "disorders" are seen as a cause of road accidents
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
Fetishism, exhibitionism and voyeurism are also included as "mental disorders" now barring people from driving.
The government says it is tightening medical controls for drivers because Russia has too many road accidents.
"Pathological" gambling and compulsive stealing are also on the list. Russian psychiatrists and human rights lawyers have condemned the move.
The announcement follows international complaints about Russian harassment of gay-rights activists.
In 2013 Russia made "promoting non-traditional lifestyles" illegal.
Valery Evtushenko at the Russian Psychiatric Association voiced concern about the driving restrictions, speaking to the BBC Russian Service. He said some people would avoid seeking psychiatric help, fearing a driving ban.
The Association of Russian Lawyers for Human Rights called the new law "discriminatory". It said it would demand clarifications from the Russian Constitutional Court and seek support from international human rights organisations.
But the Professional Drivers Union supported the move. "We have too many deaths on the road, and I believe toughening medical requirements for applicants is fully justified," said the union's head Alexander Kotov.
However, he said the requirements should not be so strict for non-professional drivers.
Mikhail Strakhov, a Russian psychiatric expert, told BBC Russian that the definition of "personality disorders" was too vague and some disorders would not affect a person's ability to drive a car safely.
Share this page
Russia says drivers must not have 'sex disorders'
Moscow street: Various mental "disorders" are seen as a cause of road accidents
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
- Gay Russians in fear as attacks increase
- Homophobia spreads in Russian media
- Taxi firm Russifies drivers' names
Fetishism, exhibitionism and voyeurism are also included as "mental disorders" now barring people from driving.
The government says it is tightening medical controls for drivers because Russia has too many road accidents.
"Pathological" gambling and compulsive stealing are also on the list. Russian psychiatrists and human rights lawyers have condemned the move.
The announcement follows international complaints about Russian harassment of gay-rights activists.
In 2013 Russia made "promoting non-traditional lifestyles" illegal.
Valery Evtushenko at the Russian Psychiatric Association voiced concern about the driving restrictions, speaking to the BBC Russian Service. He said some people would avoid seeking psychiatric help, fearing a driving ban.
The Association of Russian Lawyers for Human Rights called the new law "discriminatory". It said it would demand clarifications from the Russian Constitutional Court and seek support from international human rights organisations.
But the Professional Drivers Union supported the move. "We have too many deaths on the road, and I believe toughening medical requirements for applicants is fully justified," said the union's head Alexander Kotov.
However, he said the requirements should not be so strict for non-professional drivers.
Mikhail Strakhov, a Russian psychiatric expert, told BBC Russian that the definition of "personality disorders" was too vague and some disorders would not affect a person's ability to drive a car safely.
The BRICs Will Be Cut to the ICs if Brazil and Russia Don't Shape Up, Warns Phrasemaker O'Neill
By Bloomberg News January 08, 2015
Jim O'Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
Brazil and Russia’s membership of the BRICs may expire by the end of this decade if they fail to revive their flagging economies, according to Jim OâNeill, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. chief economist who coined the acronym.
Asked if he would still group Brazil, Russia, India and China together as emerging market powerhouses as he did in 2001, O’Neill said in an e-mail “I might be tempted to call it just ’IC’ or if the next three years are the same as the last for Brazil and Russia I might in 2019!!”
The BRIC grouping will be dragged down by a 1.8 percent contraction in Russia and less than 1 percent expansion in Brazil, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. China is seen growing 7 percent and India 5.5 percent.
VIDEO: Jim O'Neill: `Ridiculous' to Be Bearish on China
The BRICs were still booming as recently as 2007 with Russia expanding 8.5 percent and Brazil in excess of 6 percent that year. The bull market in commodities that helped propel growth in those nations has since ended, while Russia has been battered by sanctions linked to the crisis in Ukraine and Brazil has grappled with an unprecedented corruption scandal involving its state-owned oil company.
“It is tough for the BRIC countries to all repeat their remarkable growth rates” of the first decade of this century, said O’Neill, a Bloomberg View columnist and former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management International. (GSGEPPA) “There was a lot of very powerful and fortuitous forces taking place, some of which have now gone.”
Growth Recovery
The growth slump this year isn’t a new normal though and O’Neill sees expansion in Brazil and Russia partially recovering, helping the BRICs average about 6 percent growth per annum this decade -- still more than double the average for the Group of Seven nations.
VIDEO: China, India Likely to Ease Monetary Policies: De Silva
Their share of global gross domestic product will “rise sharply,” he said. O’Neill had previously estimated average annual growth of 6.6 percent for the BRICs this decade.
Unlike Brazil and Russia, China is embracing economic change while India, after the election of Narendra Modi as prime minister and benefiting from low oil prices and a young labor pool, may have brighter prospects this decade than last, O’Neill said.
With China and India spurring growth, the BRICs will remain the most dominant and positive force in the world economy “easily,” said O’Neill.
China, India
China growing at 7 percent will add about $1 trillion nominally to global output every year, O’Neill said. When measured by purchasing power parity, China’s growth adds twice as much as the U.S.’s, he said. India expanding at 6 percent will add twice as much as the U.K. in those terms, he said.
“Their consumption is increasingly key for global consumption and which markets were amongst the world’s strongest in 2014? China and India both were up significantly,” he said. “So many investors are herd like, they probably have already forgotten the BRIC’s but it is silly. They are the most important influence in the world.”
A prediction in his book, âThe Growth Map,â that the BRICs economies would overtake the U.S. in size this year will be delayed likely until 2017 primarily by the drag from Russia, O’Neill said.
The founding of the BRIC’s Development Bank signals the group’s influence in global economic affairs will rise, O’Neill said.
By 2035, the BRICs will be as big as the Group of Seven nations while China is in “a reasonable position” to be bigger than the U.S. in 2027 and India may overtake France to become the world’s fifth biggest economy by 2017, “certainly before 2020,” he said.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Kevin Hamlin in Beijing at khamlin@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Malcolm Scott at mscott23@bloomberg.net Rina Chandran
By Bloomberg News January 08, 2015
Jim O'Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
Brazil and Russia’s membership of the BRICs may expire by the end of this decade if they fail to revive their flagging economies, according to Jim OâNeill, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. chief economist who coined the acronym.
Asked if he would still group Brazil, Russia, India and China together as emerging market powerhouses as he did in 2001, O’Neill said in an e-mail “I might be tempted to call it just ’IC’ or if the next three years are the same as the last for Brazil and Russia I might in 2019!!”
The BRIC grouping will be dragged down by a 1.8 percent contraction in Russia and less than 1 percent expansion in Brazil, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. China is seen growing 7 percent and India 5.5 percent.
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The BRICs were still booming as recently as 2007 with Russia expanding 8.5 percent and Brazil in excess of 6 percent that year. The bull market in commodities that helped propel growth in those nations has since ended, while Russia has been battered by sanctions linked to the crisis in Ukraine and Brazil has grappled with an unprecedented corruption scandal involving its state-owned oil company.
“It is tough for the BRIC countries to all repeat their remarkable growth rates” of the first decade of this century, said O’Neill, a Bloomberg View columnist and former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management International. (GSGEPPA) “There was a lot of very powerful and fortuitous forces taking place, some of which have now gone.”
Growth Recovery
The growth slump this year isn’t a new normal though and O’Neill sees expansion in Brazil and Russia partially recovering, helping the BRICs average about 6 percent growth per annum this decade -- still more than double the average for the Group of Seven nations.
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Their share of global gross domestic product will “rise sharply,” he said. O’Neill had previously estimated average annual growth of 6.6 percent for the BRICs this decade.
Unlike Brazil and Russia, China is embracing economic change while India, after the election of Narendra Modi as prime minister and benefiting from low oil prices and a young labor pool, may have brighter prospects this decade than last, O’Neill said.
With China and India spurring growth, the BRICs will remain the most dominant and positive force in the world economy “easily,” said O’Neill.
China, India
China growing at 7 percent will add about $1 trillion nominally to global output every year, O’Neill said. When measured by purchasing power parity, China’s growth adds twice as much as the U.S.’s, he said. India expanding at 6 percent will add twice as much as the U.K. in those terms, he said.
“Their consumption is increasingly key for global consumption and which markets were amongst the world’s strongest in 2014? China and India both were up significantly,” he said. “So many investors are herd like, they probably have already forgotten the BRIC’s but it is silly. They are the most important influence in the world.”
A prediction in his book, âThe Growth Map,â that the BRICs economies would overtake the U.S. in size this year will be delayed likely until 2017 primarily by the drag from Russia, O’Neill said.
The founding of the BRIC’s Development Bank signals the group’s influence in global economic affairs will rise, O’Neill said.
By 2035, the BRICs will be as big as the Group of Seven nations while China is in “a reasonable position” to be bigger than the U.S. in 2027 and India may overtake France to become the world’s fifth biggest economy by 2017, “certainly before 2020,” he said.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Kevin Hamlin in Beijing at khamlin@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Malcolm Scott at mscott23@bloomberg.net Rina Chandran
Futuristic Eskimo
All Star
China will definitely be under 7% next year.
This is the problem with listening to idiots that don't know what they're talking about. They took a few years of high growth in these countries and forecasted for it to last well into the middle of that century. Ridiculous.
This is the problem with listening to idiots that don't know what they're talking about. They took a few years of high growth in these countries and forecasted for it to last well into the middle of that century. Ridiculous.
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Brazil really shyt the bed. What a collapse.
Dumbasses.
Dumbasses.
Futuristic Eskimo
All Star
You made that first point up. I haven't seen anyone credible with a forecast of anywhere near under 2% next year. The fukk does Europe and Japan have to do with the US economy?
As usual, you post more bullshyt.