Altyn means Gold, Eurasian Economic Union And Formation Of Joint Currency

Several Russian media outlets have reported that Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, that currently form the Eurasian customs union, will sign an agreement in May to accelerate the formation of an economic union and a joint currency: Altyn.

On the territory of several Russian principalities the currency Altyn has been circulating from the 15th century until 1991. Originally it was made of copper, the silver Altyn appeared during the times of Peter the Great.

I added English subtitles to the video below, press the ‘captions button’ to activate.

Transcript of the video:

ALTYN BECOMES THE NEW CURRENCY FOR CUSTOMS UNION

NEW EURASIA CURRENCY MAY APPEAR IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS

A new currency for the Eurasian Economic Union, “Altyn” may enter into circulation within the next five years. In May, the Presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus will sign an agreement on the establishment by 2015 of the Eurasian Economic Union. This unique partnership and single economic space will be a response to the European Union. It is not excluded [It is possible] that this may eventually develop into a military- political alliance which is able to compete with NATO and China. The original idea for creation of a single currency belonged to President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. In 2012, it was supported by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. It was originally planned to create a currency in 2025, but the introduction of serious economic sanctions against Russia may begin to accelerate plans for this new currency market.

Other media outlets that reported this news were Pravda.ru and Moskovsky Komsomolets. From these leads I did some searching on official sources on the development of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Altyn. What I found was that the EEU is in an advanced stage, on Altyn I couldn’t find much so I’m not convinced this currency will be introduced within 5 years. Presumably only an “oral agreement” between the states has been made on the joint currency.  

From Wikipedia:

The Eurasian Customs Union was launched as a first step towards forming a broader European Union-type economic alliance of former Soviet states. The member states are planning to continue with economic integration and were set to remove all customs borders between each other after July 2011. On 19 November 2011, the member states put together a joint commission on fostering closer economic ties, planning to create a Eurasian Union by 2015. Since 1 January 2012, the three states are a Single Economic Space (SES) to promote further economic integration. The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) is the regulatory agency for the Customs Union.

United States foreign policy opposes the Customs Union, claiming it as an attempt to “re-establish a Russian-dominated USSR-type union amongst the Post-Soviet states”

Documents from the Eurasian Economic Committee confirm the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union. Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Tajikistan may join the new financial and economic organisation. Currently the three member states are at stage III of their integration process, they aim to reach stage IVby the end of 2015. Especially Putin is keen on closing a deal to move away from the petrodollar in conjunction with allies in central Asia.

Development Stages Eurasian Economic Union

As was being said in the video above the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev was the first to come out with the idea to form a joint currency. According to Pravda.ru Nazarbayev is of the opinion the US dollar is an illegal and non-competitive means of payment “the world currency was not de jure legitimate because it was never adopted by any communities or organizations. There is no such international law,… the world currency market is not a civilized market, as the system of world currency issuance is not being controlled.” He said. Nazarbayev believes the world is heading towards a new monetary system; from “defective capitalism” to “the new capitalism that would be based on a non-defective currency – self-growing global wealth.”

Fun Facts About The Eurasian Economic Union

Russia’s economy is eight times smaller than that of the US, but by forming a new ‘empire’ on top of a vast amounts of resources this economic block will be a serious threat for the US petrodollar. Russia is now speaking openly about getting rid of the US dollar for trading energy, it’s building its own payment system and closing gas export deals with China - the other Asian empire. The Eurasian Economic Union will be a powerful stab at the US dollar hegemony.

By the way, in Kazakhstan “Altyn” means … gold.

Article : In Gold We Trust

The Latest Russian And Ukraine Troop Movement : On The Edge Of War

If Putin needed a pretext to finally drive across the Ukraine border, he got it today following first the death of nearly 40 pro-Russian protesters in Odessa during a confrontation between pro-Russia and pro-Kiev forces, and then, what appears to be a storming in progress right now by the Ukraine national guard of yet another separatist-controlled city in east Ukraine: Kramatorsk.

According to RT, Ukraine’s National Guard is storming the eastern town of Kramatorsk even as it has also resumed its special operation in Slavyansk, where two soldiers have been killed.

“The assault is starting now,” a Kramatorsk self-defense activist has told RIA Novosti by phone. Another activist told the news agency that the National Guard opened fire on self-defense forces.

Dozens have been killed or injured in Kramatorsk, a doctor told RIA Novosti. The medic added that the fighting has now stopped and all of those injured have been taken to hospitals in Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. At least two died on the way to the hospital, she said.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military’s special operation has resumed in the nearby town of Slavyansk. The headquarters of the people’s self-defense is under snipers’ fire, according to Itar-Tass. There are reports of injuries among protesters.

Recall that Putin has made it very clear that all the Kremlin needs to green light an operation in Ukraine is a pretext of "self-defense" for the pro-Russian citizens currently there being attacked by the local military, something which if the tables were turned, would have been classified as a civil war by the impartial western media.

So what does the theater of operations look like should Russia finally get involved?

The Washington Post is publishing a new map that shows, using information from the Royal United Services Institute, recent troop movements in the region. The graphic illustrates how military exercises conducted by Russia have left a big build-up of troops on Ukraine's border. It also shows Ukraine's own military moves to its borders with Russia and Moldova's Russian-dominated enclave, Transnistria.

It may be a long weekend.

Pentagon Admits "No Solution" To Replace Russian Rockets To Launch US Military Satellites

While the US is quick to demand the rest of the world turn its economic back on Russia - especially the Europeans, it appears they are discovering - just as Putin warned, the world is considerably more inter-dependent than they thought. Following Chuck Hagel's orders to review the Air Force reliance on Russian rocket engines used to launch US military satellites, Bloomberg reports the Pentagon admits it "has no great solution" to reduce its dependence on the Russian-made engine.

As Bloomberg reports,    

The Pentagon has no “great solution” to reduce its dependence on a Russian-made engine that powers the rocket used to launch U.S. military satellites, the Defense Department’s top weapons buyer said.

“We don’t have a great solution,” Frank Kendall, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, said yesterday after testifying before a Senate committee. “We haven’t made any decisions yet.”

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the Air Force to review its reliance on the rocket engine after tensions over Russia’s takeover of Ukraine’s Crimea region prompted questions from lawmakers about that long-time supply connection.

United Launch Alliance LLC, a partnership of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., uses the Russian-made RD-180 engine on Atlas V rockets.

As Putin warned - apparently correctly...

“The US is certainly one of the world’s leaders. At some point it seemed that it was the only leader and a uni-polar system was in place. Today it appears that is not the case. Everything in the world is interdependent and once you try to punish someone, in the end you will cut off your nose to spite your face,” he said.

Russia Makes Friends: To Hold Military Drill With China; Strikes Multi-Billion Deals Bahrain And Iran. Eyeing Pipeline, Russia Forgives North Korean Debt

 The G-8 may be no more as the G-7 throws every possible case of harsh language known to man at the Kremlin, which obstinately refuses to back down, while re-escalating sanctions against a Russia which merely has done what the US does every single time its national interest abroad is threatened, but one thing is becoming ever clearer: while the west isolates Russia with ever stricter measures, Russia has decided to make some new friends.

Such as China:

China and Russia will hold a "maritime cooperation-2014" drill in East China Sea at end-May, Voice of Russia reports on its Chinese-language website yesterday.

China and Russia will conduct reconnaissance in the area within 3 days to prepare for the drill, the report says, citing an unidentified representative from Russian navy.

Earlier, the Russian military delegation of the Russian Navy, led by Viktor Karamazov Couchepi, arrived in Shanghai. Naval officials and representatives of the General Command of the Pacific Fleet met the Russian military delegation.

Such as Iran:

Iran and Russia are negotiating a power deal worth up to $10 billion in the face of increasing US financial alienation. The construction of new thermal and hydroelectric plants and a transmission network are in the works. Iran’s Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian met his Russian counterpart Aleksandr Novak in Tehran on Sunday in order to discuss the potential power deals, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.

“[Expansion of] Iran-Russia relations are not only to the benefit of the two nations, but also are beneficial to entire region,” Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, stated in a meeting with Novak in Tehran on Sunday, reported Iran’s FARS news agency.

Plans include the construction of hydroelectric and thermal generating plants and a new transmission network. The possibility of Russia exporting 500 megawatts of electricity to Iran is also on the cards, said Mehr.

The strengthening of economic ties between the two countries is of heightened significance given both economic sanctions on Iran, imposed with the aim of encouraging Iran to cut its uranium stockpiles, and new economic sanctions on Russian officials imposed on Monday.

On Sunday, Chitchian reportedly stressed “the need for further expansion of economic ties between Tehran and Moscow, particularly in the energy and commerce spheres,” stated Mehr.

Moscow has additionally been discussing the trade of 500,000 barrels a day of Iranian oil for Russian goods with Tehran. The protracted deal, first reported at the beginning of April could be worth as much as $20 billion, and has rattled Washington because it could bring Iran's crude exports above one million barrels a day - the threshold agreed upon in the nuclear deal between the P5+1 powers - US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany – and Iran.

such as Bahrain:

The governments of Bahrain and Russia have signed a deal to cooperate on investments, at a time when U.S. and European governments are imposing economic sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.

Bahrain is a U.S. diplomatic ally in the Gulf, and its decision suggests Western sanctions may not deter other countries from continuing to expand business ties with Russia.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Bahraini sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat to identify and work together on investment opportunities in their countries. Mumtalakat chief executive Mahmood al-Kooheji will join the RDIF's international advisory board, helping to formulate its strategic direction, the statement added.

The Bahraini fund is one of the smaller sovereign funds in the Gulf, with $7.1 billion of assets as of last September. The RDIF is a $10 billion fund created by Russia's government to make equity investments, mainly in the Russian economy.

And Such as North Korea

Reuters reported that Russia’s Duma voted to write off roughly $10 billion worth of the debt that North Korea owes Moscow from the days of the Soviet Union. The vote ratified an agreement made in September 2012, after a meeting between then-President Dmitry Medvedev and then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Siberia in the summer of 2011.

At the time the agreement was first announced, The Guardian reported, citing Russia’s Finance Minister Sergei Storchak, that Moscow would forgive “90% of the debt and reinvest $1bn as part of a debt-for-aid plan to develop energy, health care and educational projects in North Korea.” Russian experts hailed the agreement as a sign that North Korea’s leadership was looking to initiate market style reforms in the reclusive country.

The Reuters report from this weekend said the deal ratified by the Duma on Friday would leave North Korea with about $1.09 billion worth of debt to Russia. North Korea would pay off that amount in six-month installations over the next twenty years. It also summarized Storchak as saying that the money Pyongyang pays back would be reinvested into North Korea.

North Korea was a strong ally of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and Russia has forgiven the debt incurred by other Soviet allies like Cuba. However, the decision to forgive Pyongyang’s Soviet-era debt is most likely geared toward trying to bolster Russia’s plans to build a gas pipeline from its Sakhalin Island fields to South Korea via the North. The pipeline, which would also be accompanied by a railway, would reportedly carry 10 billion cubic meters of gas to South Korea annually. The gas would come from Russia’s state-owned energy company, Gazprom.

Moscow has been pushing for the Korean gas pipeline and railway for years as part of its strategy to diversify its energy markets away from Europe and toward Asia. This general goal has gained new urgency in the wake of Russia’s clash with the West over the Ukraine and Crimea.

The plan got a boost from Seoul over the weekend when South Korea’s Unification Ministry announced on Sunday that it had approved a trip to Pyongyang by Choi Yeon-hye, the president and CEO of the Korea Railroad Corp. Choi will lead a South Korean delegation to the Organization for Co-Operation between Railways (OSJD) meeting in the North Korean capital scheduled for April 24-28. Chinese and Russian rail officials will also be at the meeting, according to South Korean media outlets.

 If nothing else, at least it shows just how seriously the rest of the world (away from those G-7 members who are as insolvent as the US of course) is taking US sanctions and threats of retaliation. Meanwhile, back in the US, rigged stocks hit intraday highs on what we would otherwise call BTFWWWIIID... if only there was a D.

All NATO Aircraft Deployments In Response To The Ukraine Crisis : The West Prepares

This does not exactly look like de-escalation to us...

Spot the nation that just had "major sanctions" handed down to it

What is fascinating is the ramp in US equities managed to catch them up to Russia's post-sanctions outperformance... before they collapsed again... almost as if someone wanted to prove that US was not suffering.

Massing Of 15,000 Ukraine Troops, Hundreds Of Tanks Around Slavyansk - Satellite Images

Russian RIA Novosti reports that it has received satellite photos, "which clearly show the accumulation of a large number of Ukrainian military equipment and weapons on the border with the Russian Federation and in the vicinity of Slavyasnk." RIA cites a source in the Russian Defense Ministry, who commented that the pictures show a military formation designed "to wipe out the city and all its inhabitants from the face of the earth."

According to source, the group has more than 15,000 troops from the Ukraine army and national guard, about 160 tanks, 230 infantry fighting vehicles and APCs, and as much as 150 mortars, howitzers and multiple launch rocket systems ("Grad" and "Smerch").

The source concludes that "This concentration of troops in one area is not compatible with the potential of self-defense forces, armed with only a small number of pistols and submachine guns."

The satellite images are below:

It goes without saying that a matching build up (or at least an attempt at one) by Ukraine is normal and to be expected. The problem is that as we have witnessed every day over the past two weeks, military provocations on both sides of the conflict happen every day if not every hour. The latest one happened moments ago, as reported by RT:

Unknown assailants landed in helicopters and attacked a checkpoint in Soledar city in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, a militia source told RIA Novosti adding that there is a fight going on. There is no information on the number of casualties.

Soledar is located about 30 kilometers south east of Slavyansk.

The people’s governor of Donbass region Denis Pushilin confirmed to RT that there is fighting in Soledar. As the unknown men attacked the checkpoint, the militia was forced to retreat, the source told RIA.

The second checkpoint is preparing for attack he said, adding that there are about 50 activists, many without weapons.

For now these skirmishes around "checkpoints" have been isolated events. But how long before the Ukraine "special forces" which may well amount to 15,000 troops as reported by Russian media, get involved. And how much longer after that until Russia retaliats. But the biggest question: who will be the agent provocateur who fires the first shot in hopes of launch an all out war? Indeed, who stands to gain the most from yet another war - one which will hardly be "contained"

Ukraine Gives Russia 48-Hr Ultimatum Or "We Will Fight"

Ukraine's foreign ministry has given Russia a 48-hour ultimatum to explain its military exercises near the nation's border; or, as foreign minister Andriy Deshschytisa warns "we will now fight with Russia troops."

As AP reports,

Ukraine's foreign minister has blasted the Russian decision to start military maneuvers along Ukraine's border and said his country will fight any invading troops.

Andriy Deshchytisa said Russia's decision Thursday to launch the military exercises "very much escalates the situation in the region."

Talking to The Associated Press in Prague, Deshchytisa says his country has been taught a lesson by Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. He says "having this experience, we will now fight with Russian troops if ... they invade Ukraine."

He says "Ukrainian people and Ukrainian army are ready to do this."

Deshchytisa says the new Russian military exercises are taking place "even closer to the Ukrainian border than it was planned earlier" and demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops.

It seems the red-line is about to be crossed by both sides... though as long as Putin does not hold an emergency press conference, it seems BTF WWIII is back on.

Russia Warns West "Remove Forces"; Begins Military Exercise On Ukraine Border

UPDATE: Dutch fighter jets were scrambled after Russian bombers approached Dutch airspace; the Russian planes turned away

With both sides appearing to have entirely un-de-escalated and the truce deal now a thing of the past (besides a few hundred Dow points), the Russians are speaking up today - and are not happy:

• RUSSIA IS EXTREMELY SURPRISED BY KIEV AND WASHINGTON'S "DISTORTED" INTERPRETATION OF AGREEMENT REACHED IN GENEVA LAST WEEK ON DE-ESCALATION OF UKRAINE CRISIS - FOREIGN MINISTRY
• RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SAYS KIEV AND WASHINGTON "CLOSING THEIR EYES" TO PROVOCATIVE ACTIONS BY NATIONALIST FORCES IN UKRAINE

And, on the heels of Turchynov's official restart of the so-called anti-terrorist operation, Russia is calling on Ukraine to pull back military from Ukraine's southeast... and rattles its sabre by undertaking a military exercise on the border.

Bloomberg reports,

Russia is surprised by distorted interpretation of Geneva accord from govts of Ukraine, U.S., RIA Novosti reports, citing Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

*RUSSIA CALLS ON UKRAINE TO REMOVE MILITARY FROM SOUTHEAST: RIA

Russia says Ukraine, U.S. closing eyes to provocations by right-wing extremists: RIA

Russia still believes partners are serious about resolving crisis in Ukraine: RIA

and in addition

• RUSSIAN MILITARY CONDUCTS MILITARY EXERCISE IN ROSTOV REGION, BORDERING UKRAINE - DEFENCE MINISTRY OFFICIAL

All of this sets the scene for an important set of meetings next week...

Russia ready to host EU, Ukraine energy officials in Moscow or consider other cities for talks, Russian Energy Ministry spokeswoman Olga Golant says by phone.

Golant confirms EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger invited Russia to gas talks

Slovakia planning talks on use of gas pipeline in reverse to supply Ukraine on Apr. 28 in Bratislava, Eustream pipeline operator spokesman Vahram Chuguryan says by phone

So to sum it all up:

1. The truce deal is dead
2. Russia blames Ukraine/West for breaking deal and misunderstanding it
3. Ukraine/West blame Russia for not unilaterally pulling back its forces
4. Russia is warning Ukraine to pullback military from Russia-held southeast Ukraine ("or there will be retaliation")
5. Russia is rattling its sabre by military exercises on the Ukraine border (after US sends another warship into the Black Sea)
6. Against all this tension, gas pipeline talks are set to begin shortly.

Here Come The Boots On The Ground: US Troops Heading To Eastern Europe

It seems the truce "deal" is well and truly dead...

• 600 U.S. TROOPS HEADING TO EUROPE FOR EXERCISES: PENTAGON
• U.S. AIRBORNE TROOPS GOING TO POLAND, LITHUANIA, LATVIA,ESTONIA
• U.S. MILITARY EXERCISES ARE IN RESPONSE TO UKRAINE CRISIS:KIRBY
• MORE MILITARY EXERCISES 'COMING THROUGH' NATO: PENTAGON

The question now, of course, is - what will Putin do in response to this action?

As for where these troops may be arriving from the answer is simple: that other US military intervention success story - Afghanistan. From Reuters:

The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan may drop well below 10,000 - the minimum demanded by the U.S. military to train Afghan forces - as the longest war in American history winds down, Obama administration officials briefed on the matter say.

Since Afghanistan's general election on April 5, White House, State Department and Pentagon officials have resumed discussions on how many American troops should remain after the current U.S.-led coalition ends its mission this year.

The decision to consider a small force, possibly less than 5,000 U.S. troops, reflects a belief among White House officials that Afghan security forces have evolved into a robust enough force to contain a still-potent Taliban-led insurgency. The small U.S. force that would remain could focus on counter-terrorism or training operations.

That belief, the officials say, is based partly on Afghanistan's surprisingly smooth election, which has won international praise for its high turnout, estimated at 60 percent of 12 million eligible votes, and the failure of Taliban militants to stage high-profile attacks that day.

The Obama administration has been looking at options for a possible residual U.S. force for months.

"The discussion is very much alive," said one U.S. official who asked not to be identified. "They're looking for additional options under 10,000" troops.

There are now about 33,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, down from 100,000 in 2011, when troop numbers peaked a decade into a conflict originally intended to deny al Qaeda sanctuary in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Of course, it would be peak irony if the next country Russia decides to destabilize is none other than its old "buddy" Afghanistan, which lately appears far more amicable toward the Kremlin than the White House. It certainly would be an additional egg in the face of US foreign policy if Aghaniitan - so critical to the US controlled heroin trade - were to show a return to some of its Taliban roots for which it is so well-known.

Russia Confirms Troop Build-Up Near Ukraine; Warns West, More Sanctions "Absolutely Unacceptable"

For the first time, Russia has confirmed that it has built up its military presence on the Ukrainian border (according to Agence France Presse). On the heels of the de-escalation and the West's threat of tougher sanctions (if Russia failed to abide by the new 'deal'), Kremlin spokesman Dmirty Peskov told Rossiya TV that "we have troops in different regions, and there are troops close to the Ukrainian border. Some are based there, others have been sent as reinforcements due to the situation in Ukraine." Reuters also reports that Washington statements "are unlikely to help dialogue," and further sanctions would be "absolutely unacceptable." It seems the 'deal' has done little to calm anything but the US equity market as Peskov blasted "You can't treat Russia like a guilty schoolboy."

The Daily Mail's latest update on suspected (now confirmed) Russian troop build-up

Reuters adds that President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said, "Statements like those made at a high level in Washington that the United States will follow in detail how Russia fulfils its obligations ... are unlikely to help dialogue,"

"You can't treat Russia like a guilty schoolboy who has to put a cross on a piece of paper to show he has done his homework," Peskov said in an interview with Russia's First Channel. "That kind of language is unacceptable."

Russia's Foreign Ministry accused U.S. officials of seeking to whitewash what it said was the use of force by the Ukrainian government against protesters in the country's mainly Russian-speaking eastern provinces.

"The blame for the Ukrainian crisis and its current aggravation is unreasonably being placed on Russia," the ministry said in a statement.

"The American side is once again stubbornly trying to whitewash the current actions of Kiev's authorities, who have embarked on a course for the violent suppression of protesters in the southeast who are expressing their legitimate indignation over the infringements of their rights."

Europe Folds As Putin Tells It To Pay Ukraine's Gazprom Bill, Or Else ...

Another day ending in "y" means another day in which Putin plays the G(roup of most insolvent countries)-7 like a fiddle.

The latest: Europe should provide aid to Ukraine to ensure uninterrupted natural-gas deliveries to the region, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said as reported by Bloomberg.

"Russia is the only country helping Ukraine’s economy with energy supplies that are not paid for,"  Dmitry Peskov told reporters today in Moscow,  commenting on President Vladimir Putin’s letter yesterday to 18 European heads of state. “The letter is a call to immediately review this situation, which is absurd on the one hand and critical on the other.

Said otherwise: PUTIN SAYS EUROPE GAS TRANSIT DEPENDS ON UKRAINE: IFX

Or, as we explained yesterday, Russia is quite happy to keep the EU gas flowing... as long as Ukraine has enough gas in storage to assure Gazprom it won't syphon off gas destined for Europe. So how much gas does Ukraine need to pre-stock? About $4-5 billion worth. The problem is that Ukraine doesn't have a dime to spend on gas.

So putting the question aside if Ukraine will or won't import even one bcf of Russian gas ever again (thanks to some fracking or US natgas exporting magic), what Putin just said is that if Europe wants an uninterrupted supply of gas it better find a way to fund Ukraine to the tune of up to $5 billion, or else the gas may just get shut off.

And guess what: Putin is about to win yet again:  

European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger is working on a plan to help Ukraine pay some of its gas bills to Russia, he told Austria's ORF radio on Friday, saying there was "no reason to panic" about Russian gas supplies to Europe.

"We are in close contact with Ukraine and its gas company to ensure that Ukraine remains able to pay and the debts that the gas company has to Gazprom do not rise further," he said, adding he would meet Ukraine's energy and foreign ministers on Monday.

"I am preparing a solution that is part of the aid package that the IMF, the European Union and the World Bank is giving to Ukraine and from which payment for open bills will be possible."

German Vice Chancellor Warns 'No Alternative To Russian Gas'

'No Alternative to Russian Gas'

Even Germany's vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel realizes that there is no alternative to Russian gas for Germany, at least not in the near future. It should be noted to this that Germany's energy policy has driven energy prices to the very edge of what the population and industry can still handle.

On the one hand, there is the vast subsidization of 'green energy', which is not only thoroughly uneconomic and blighting the landscape, but the costs of which have been off-loaded on consumers, who pay a special 'ecological fee' on top of their already far too high bills.

On the other hand, after the Fukujima accident, Germany's government quickly gave in to pressure from the Greens and decided to completely phase out nuclear energy (as if Germany were in danger of being hit by a tsunami). This is of course a completely futile gesture, as the country is surrounded by other countries brimming with nuclear reactors over which it has no control whatsoever (admittedly, even one nuclear accident would be one too many). However, this hasty step has once again made electricity more expensive.

Oil and Gas Reserves Infographic

We have come across a neat infographic published by RIA Novosti on the countries harboring large oil and gas reserves – all data are per capita and in USD terms.

Another Region Seeks To Join Russia Most Likely Moldova's Transnistira Region

"Who is next" in the great annexation scramble ? 

The most likely region to enter the USSR 2.0 next is Moldova's Transnistira region, where in a 2006 referendum some 97% of the population had voted to become part of Russia.

Moments ago this appears to have been confirmed after the president of the territory said the following, via Bloomberg:

• TRANSNISTRIA SEEKING TO JOIN RUSSIA AFTER WINNING INDEPENDENCE
• MOLDOVA'S TRANSNISTRIA REGION SEEKS TO JOIN RUSSIA: PRESIDENT
• TRANSNISTRIA PRESIDENT SHEVCHUK SPEAKING TO REPORTERS ON RUSSIA

One thing is certain: the "west" will not be happy as the Russian territorial expansion continues.