What Does Russia Have in Common With the Average Central African Country?

Just like Gabon or Kenya or the Ivory Coast, the strongman who rules Russia allegedly has siphoned tens of billions of dollars into secret offshore accounts, enough so that Vladimir Putin may well be the richest man in Europe.

It is no secret that Russia is the most corrupt major power in the world. Joe Nocera of the NY Times recently wrote an article that said, in essence, that anyone who invested in Russia had better be prepared to have their investment stolen from them by force of law. If "a fool and his money are soon parted" is true, then anyone who invests in Russia is arguably a fool and it will be hard to muster any sympathy for them.

(H/T)