Today in Russian Business – Dec 26th, 2008

‘In reality, Russia is not going through an economic crisis. The real crisis is that its government model is fundamentally flawed,‘ says Yulia Latynina.  Russia has let the ruble fall for the third time in five days – the eleventh time in six weeks – and it has since fallen to another record low against the euro.  Stocks continue to rise and fall with the price of oil, and the gold and foreign exchange reserves rose by a record $15.4 billion during the last week.  Japan has announced sizable investments in Russia’s rubber and instant noodle markets.  Aeroflot predicts that its 2009 profits will hit record levels – possibly because it plans to retain the right to collect fees from foreign carriers crossing Siberian airspace?  The Kremlin has unveiled its list of strategic enterprises – those entitled to government support in the economic crisis.