(KBHM) Great article about Putin in the previous edition of The Economist.
I especially like their list of reforms Putin must do to be remembered favourably in history:
- Promise not to run for President again in 2018
- Offer to hold a fresh parliamentary election
- Establish the rule of law and reform the economy (which he has previously promised)
- Reinstate wholly free elections for regional governors as a step towards greater decentralisation of power
- Release Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed former boss of the Yukos oil company
- And instead of Mr Medvedev, choose as prime minister a relative liberaliser such as Alexei Kudrin, a former finance minister who has sought to engage the protesters
If Putin were to complete these suggested reforms, Russia could be heading toward a brighter future. With public spending accounting for 40 % of their GDP, which is high for a middle-income country. Russia's federal budget in 2007 needed oil prices of $30 per barrel to balance. 2012 however, Russia will need a number closer to $130.
Oil WTI, currently trading at $107.6 per barrel.
