Despite all the harrowing experiences of political risk and Russian government intervention from Yukos to Hermitage, investors keep coming back for more beatings. It’s not difficult to understand why: ever since awakening from the holiday slumber, the ruble made its biggest one-day gain against the dollar this week, while portfolio managers from HSBC are expecting around a “15 to 20 percent return in 2010” from Russia stocks. It’s pretty hard to remember murdered lawyers, human rights, and stolen companies when the Street sees those figures.