Russian learning curve
Right to the point: it’s flat.
About 20 years ago the price of oil sharply dropped from $70+ to just above $20, depriving the USSR of $20 billion in annual revenue (somewhat a lot), and effectively ruining the country into a dozen independent states, with Russia being the legal successor of USSR. Today, in 2007, we have oil prices again at that high level, and we (Russians) do nothing to develop any other sources of revenue.
We sell jet fighters that were developed in the 1970-s, launch spacecraft developed in the 1980-s and.. well, yeah, we buy X-Boxes, developed in 2000s, but not in Russia. We still sell resources (oil, gas, steel), and buy manufactured goods. We sell wood to Finland and buy paper from them (we, who control 1/6th of the world’s land, at least half of it being covered with forest). We’re partnering with Boeing to develop a regional jetliner, Superjet, which in about 20—30 years will be effectively killed by old Boeing 737-s and Airbus A320-s imported from all over the world, which by that time would start switching from current aircraft to blended wing aircraft (a much safer and fuel-efficient and ecological design). If we should have ever learned a thing from our past, it should have been “Long run matters”.
Too bad we all seem to be Keynes fans here…
9th July 2007
