Today in Russian Business – May 7, 2012

$890,000 is, according to RFE/RL, the cost of Vladimir Putin’s inauguration ceremony today and $510,000 the alleged price to sit next to a high-ranking official at the banquet after the ceremony.  As Putin prepares for his return, Bloomberg offers an article analyzing the financial factors he will face in his new presidency in the oil-driven economy.  The economic necessity of moving away from dependence on oil and gas is clear, says the BBC, but ‘in a country as vast and diverse as Russia – even when backed by political will – the logistics of putting change into practice seem nigh on impossible’.  The nation’s energy export strength however is a major advantage within the context of the BRIC club, says this analysis.  Firms part-owned by Russia’s richest man, Alisher Usmanov, and his partners, apparently plan to sell up to $1.5 billion in Facebook stock when the company’s long-awaited IPO hits the market on May 18.  Moscow’s metro could go private.