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The decision to host the World Cup was more of the same, except another 11 key region cities got the same treatment and they all feature well in the Ria Novosti ranking.
In parallel to the state investment is the growing inter-regional competition for domestic investment. A few regions, like Kaluga, spent very heavily on setting up industrial parks and as
result attracted big investments from domestic investors. Kaluga became the “Detroit of Russia”, attracting most of the main car manufacturers from a standing start with its fully developed “plug and play” $1bn industrial park.
Elections and the fall in popularity
of the ruling United Russia Party
have helped too. The Kremlin has increasingly been forced to turn to the regional governors to help bring in the vote as the centre is powerless to sway the vote in the regions by itself. That has meant giving regional governors the money to make investments into local infrastructure and services, which has seen their popularity soar: last year Russia’s regional governors briefly
saw their popularity overtake that
of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has enjoyed a 65% approval rating for pretty much all of his career as president.
The bottom line is life is still hard in Russia’s frozen interior. The World Bank has recommended several
times that these cities and towns be simply closed down and the people relocated to the nicer parts of Russia, as many of these settlements no longer make economic sense. What stops it happening is the value of an apartment in Norilsk is so low the locals cannot raise enough money to buy a dacha
in Bryansk. The local pensioners
are trapped by the property price differential. Younger people don't
have this problem and so the interior is depopulating slowly, but it will take several generations for the rebalancing process to be complete.
Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov richest man in Ukraine as fortune swells almost $4bn in a year
bne IntelliNews
Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov topped the Forbes richest list for Ukraine, being named its richest man after his fortune swelled by almost $4bn since June 2020, from $2.8bn to $7.6bn, the magazine reported, as cited by Interfax Ukraine on March 15.
Akhmetov is ranked 330th in the list of the richest people in the world. His main assets are Metinvest ($3.3bn) and DTEK Group ($2.1bn).
Metinvest is one of Ukraine’s biggest metal producers and has benefited from a surge in steel prices in the last year, which are now at nine-year highs.
DTEK is one of Ukraine’s biggest power companies and have been a big investor into renewable energy, which has been very profitable after the previous government offered extremely attractive green tariffs to power companies to attract investment into the sector.
The second-richest Ukrainian is Victor Pinchuk, who owns the Interpipe company that makes pipes for the oil and gas business. Since June 2020, Pinchuk’s fortune has grown from $1.4bn to $2.5bn, of which $800mn is real estate, $700mn is cash, and the remaining $500mn is Interpipe.
Kostiantyn Zhevaho is listed third in the ranking. His fortune increased from $1.1bn to $2.1bn. His largest asset is Ferrexpo ($1.4bn).
The list includes oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky with $1.8bn and his partner Hennadiy Boholiubov with $1.7bn, former president Petro Poroshenko with $1.6bn and Vadim Novinsky with $1.4bn.
As bne IntelliNews reported in “The Oligarch Problem”, the wealthy elite in Ukraine are one of the main hindrances to the country’s progress. In addition to controlling several of the biggest companies in the country, Akhmetov is also believed to control over 100 deputies in the 450 strong Rada.
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