A recent analysis from Reuters quoted several experts who suggest that Russia’s books are not as balanced as Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin would have it.  With euro-contagion plaguing Europe and the US facing a looming debt problem, Russia may appear to be a safer financial haven.  Look closer however, they suggest, and what you will find is a lack of fiscal strategy and an entrenched over dependence on high oil prices ($125 a barrel next year to keep the deficit in check).  Sergei Aleksashenko from Carnegie expands on this problem, as well as a host of other worrying factors.  Here’s his views on the perils of energy as an economic life support system: