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ARTICLE: “Russians Bet Ruble Will Rise To Status of Dollar, Euro, Yen,” by Peter Finn, Washington Post, 29 June 2006, p. A24.
Interesting to see the economic bravado connected with Russia’s recovery from state bankruptcy just a decade ago.
Whether or not the ruble becomes an international reserve currency is less important than the clear signals being sent by Russians themselves: they now believe in their own currency, and believing in your own currency means believing in your nation’s economic future.
All currency panics/meltdowns are triggered when local people start shorting the national currency (i.e., assuming it will devalue). That’s what triggers the similar pressure from abroad.
Now we have Putin talking about paying off the nation’s foreign debt and bills in the parliament that would require all commercial establishments “to express their price in rubles.”
That’s all good stuff, because a stable, growing Russia that seeks not just to sell us oil and gas but likewise seeks investment opportunities downstream in those industries is a Russia we don’t have to worry about militarily.
And not worrying about a country militarily is my most essential definition of being in the Core--i.e., scenarios about sending our troops to your nation become more and more fantastic, so you’re basically in.
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