[lbo-talk] Russia's economy (was Kvetching, Sarkozy etc.)

[ravi]

On 9 May, 2007, at 9:52 AM, Doug Henwood wrote:
> On May 9, 2007, at 9:00 AM, Chris Doss wrote:
>
>> Victory is indeed sweet, what with all the cars,
>> personal computers, stereos, DVDs, color televisions
>> that don't blow up, and Planet Sushis. Did you know
>> that Moscow has over 30 Sbarro's Restaurants?
>> http://www.sbarro-rus.com/restaurants/moscow.htm . The
>> megamalls going up everywhere are enormous.
>
> Everywhere, or just in Moscow?
>
> Sounds like all that stuff is imported, not of domestic manufacture.
> So Russia is trading oil for consumer goods and not investing much.
> You can't sustain 7% growth rates on that forever.

So it seems like India is a Russia (large intellectual/technical  
skill base, pent-up consumer demand, etc, including the imported  
stuff: products, brands, etc) without the oil. Would those of you  
predicting or suspicious of doom for Russia say the same of India? Or  
is my analogy wrong?

	--ravi