For the most part, we like Russia’s Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin. He often presents some convincing arguments for the management of Russia’s overheating economy, and shows a certain amount of bravery by upholding orthodox finance views despite open threats to his position from the siloviki. His interview in today’s Wall Street Journal makes for an interesting read. There are just the excerpts.

On sovereign-wealth funds: “They’ve become saviors for Western financial institutions in the current financial situation.” [Alexei Kudrin] “This concern [about the use of funds for political purposes] is exaggerated. … If an investment is politically motivated, does that mean it’s not profitable? And if they are profitable, then how is that different from commercially motivated?” “Where is the line between commercial motivation and political ones? I don’t know, because so far I haven’t seen any politically motivated decisions.”