The Cold War is done, finish, ka las, no more – right? Not even close! Russia has been recovering, expanding, and sneaking into just about every headline with little or no attention. As usual, I like to identify threats ahead of time; or in this case, an old threat. Walls came down, lessons were learned, and the cunning Russia has moved back into our lives, or at least positioning themselves that way. Perception is reality. Here are some facts that should be alerting to everyone.

Lets start with the aperture wide open: We always hear about the BRIC countries (future economic super powers) – Brazil, Russia, India, and China BUT Russia is the only non-Eastern “saving” culture growing fairly well. In 2011, Russia became the world’s leading oil producer, surpassing Saudi Arabia (read that twice, yes, surpassing Saudi Arabia); Russia is the second-largest producer of natural gas; Russia holds the world’s largest natural gas reserves, the second-largest coal reserves, and the eighth-largest crude oil reserves. Russia is the third-largest exporter of both steel and primary aluminum. There economy has defied predicted 4% growth by posting an impressive 4.9% growth per year and growing.

CIA World Fact Book: RUSSIAN ECONOMY

“Russia has undergone significant changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union, moving from a globally-isolated, centrally-planned economy to a more market-based and globally-integrated economy.” For More