Vice President Joe Biden caused a dust-up in relations with Moscow the other day when he suggested that Russia had no choice but to accommodate to U.S. demands because its economy is "withering." Photo from The L.A. TimesFrom McClatchy News:
KUVSHINOVO, Russia — The government administrator was bursting with optimism: More children are being born, many rubles will be invested in infrastructure and his region is weathering the global economic storm.
"The situation is so good," said Boris Zaitsev, a broad-shouldered man who spoke in a confident monotone.
Outside his office, some 170 miles northwest of Moscow, the front steps to the Soviet-era government building are falling into a pile of rubble. Deep, spine-rattling potholes that rival sections of Baghdad riddle the town's streets. The region's population has plummeted by more than a quarter.
Read more ....
My Comment: I last visited the steppes of Russia in 2007, and I enjoyed the desolation and abandonment.
But that is just me.