Water - the oil and gas of the not-too-distant future

What's news is this: «The world community is hoping that Russia will soon become a supplier to the countries of Europe not only of energy inputs, but of fresh water as well. About this has already been spoken at a January conference under the patronage of "United Russia", which will receive its continuation within the framework of the "Clean water" forum, which will take place in Moscow 24-25 November».

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What is not news is this: a long time ago, long before anybody from United Russia got around to it, one smart person had already concerned himself

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For some weeks now we have been hearing about the mysterious closure of the Cherkizovsky market in Moscow, as well as the abundant swirling rumors behind the business dispute.  The cast of characters is as colorful as can be.  There is the Azeri oligarch Telman Ismailov, who owns the property, and is said to have angered the Kremlin by throwing an ostentatious party at a time when the state purse was tight (Putin was "furious").  There is the ubiquitous Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who is alleged to be in on the take (even his wife is alleged to hold a secret stake in the Sibir Energy case).  There is one story about a real estate ...

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An article in the Washington Post reports that the slowdown in Moscow's construction boom due to the financial crisis could begin to create some serious political problems. Polonsky's move, suspending more than 80 percent of his company's portfolio of projects, is one of many signs that the global turmoil that has pummeled the stock markets and banking system here is also beginning to be felt in the rest of the Russian economy, especially a real estate sector that has been soaring for more than a decade. (...) A slowdown in construction growth could present a political problem for the Kremlin, which has made providing more affordable and comfortable homes a priority in a country where surveys show as many as two-thirds of residents are unhappy with their current housing. Most Russians are still living in the cramped, Soviet-allocated apartments that were given to them in the first round of privatization in ...