Russia Likely to be Next IMF Recipient

2) Russia lags far behind many of its neighbor's in ending long-time monopolies in gas, electric power generation, district heating, and transportation services.

3) Agriculture remains largely state-owned, inefficient, and is an overall money-loser.

4) The Duma continues to block a sound land code that would reform urban land and real estate, making them more market driven.

5) Financial services in Russia are atrocious. Most banks are on the brink of insolvency. The ones that are solvent are barely so. Credit remains affected by corruption and influence peddling, and government is directed to preferential business alliances. Mortgages for purchasing homes are nearly non-existent.

6) Russia's military expenditures continue to be a major drain on spending. Right now, Russia is in the process of upgrading its nuclear missile stockpile. It is creating the next generation of intercontinental ballistic missiles (TOPOL-Ms, also known as SS-27s), nuclear submarines, and the new nuclear-powered missile cruiser Peter the Great.

Meanwhile, IMF aid continues to poor into Russia, and more likely is on the way. The question is, how much of this money is Russia going to use to put its economic house in order, and how much is it going to use to keep things they way they are?

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