Today in Russian Business – Dec 12, 2011

Bloomberg reports that political risk prompted by the election debacle will have a serious effect on Russian stocks for months to come.  Russia’s economic ministry has warned that the risk of a fall in oil prices has increased in the wake of the eurozone debt crisis, which could in turn have a negative impact on the economy.   Reuters reports on how growing popular dissent in Russia is spooking investors.  A strategy report for 2012 released by investment bank UralSib Capital on December 2, which dismissed the possibility of domestic political disturbances, looks naive in retrospect, says the Moscow Times.  A new report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has said that Russian economic growth will be hampered in the coming years by a ‘poor’ business environment and energy inefficiency.  Prime Minister Putin has personally intervened to prevent the closure of a 67-year-old aluminum smelter employing 3,500 people in the Urals town of Krasnoturyinsk, as he attempts to propitiate voters.   ‘We expect 2012 to be one of the busiest business years for railway companies since World War II’, says Evraz Senior Vice President Pavel Tatyanin on an optimistic outlook for next year.  Whilst its European counterparts battle the eurozone crisis, Sberbank has, it would seem, enjoyed a boom year with net profit for the first 11 months almost doubling,