In Russia, corruption gets you

December 18, 2009 5:39 AM

As a result of epic fraud, lawyer Sergey Magnitsky was falsely imprisoned and died in jail. An incredible story of doing business in a corrupt country.
posted by procrastination (13 comments total)

What is the buying power of 230 million U.S. dollars in Russia? Curious if this translates to like hundreds of billions in U.S. buying power.
posted by spicynuts at 6:47 AM on December 18, 2009

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posted by lester's sock puppet at 6:53 AM on December 18, 2009

What is the buying power of 230 million U.S. dollars in Russia?

In terms of what? Certainly Moscow is a more expensive city than New York, for whatever that's worth. Not sure that's quite what you're asking.
posted by IndigoJones at 7:05 AM on December 18, 2009

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posted by burnmp3s at 7:11 AM on December 18, 2009

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posted by shaun uh at 7:26 AM on December 18, 2009

Ok I guess I'm asking, as an American, is my vision of what I could buy with 230 million dollars in America the same as what can be bought with 230 million dollars in Russia? I guess it boils down to, is 230 million bucks worth more or less in Russia? Maybe an example would help. What is the cost of a 2 bedroom apartment in a posh neighborhood in Moscow, perhaps a neighborhood that would compare to the Upper East Side of Manhattan near the park?
posted by spicynuts at 8:56 AM on December 18, 2009

Moscow is apparently more expensive than New York, i.e. US$230 million would definitely not translate to "hundreds of billions" of buying power in Moscow. However, both of those cities are international economic centres and not reflective of either nation as a whole.

I found that money does not go quite as far in Moscow as it does in the States, though the difference in terms of buying things like food at a shopping mall is not huge.
posted by scribbler at 11:09 AM on December 18, 2009

Why would anyone care about the buying power of US $230 million in Russia? That money can be wired and spent anywhere in the world. If I had US $230 million, I'm pretty sure I could afford air travel and visas to get the hell out of what appears to be a third world kleptocracy masquerading as a first rate nation. That's still a lot of money.
posted by Hylas at 2:19 PM on December 18, 2009

What is the buying power of 230 million U.S. dollars in Russia?

The Big Mac Index suggests that your dollar stretches about 64% farther [or as much as 95%]. I'm not sure how meaningful this really is in picturing the scale, but if it helps you out to think of it as about $375 or $400 million you may do so. Certainly it is many times the value in per capita terms -- US GDP per capita ($48K) is about three times that in Russia ($15K). In that sense (say, the amount of health care that the state cannot service) it looks more like a billion-dollar fraud.
posted by dhartung at 3:11 PM on December 18, 2009

Why would anyone care about the buying power of US $230 million in Russia?

Because I'm curious?? Jesus.
posted by spicynuts at 3:53 PM on December 18, 2009 [2 favorites]

This post deserves a Yakov Smirnov tag, please.
posted by about_time at 5:43 PM on December 18, 2009

Hey, look at that, I can add tags too. I even spelled his name correctly.
posted by about_time at 5:46 PM on December 18, 2009

Russia is no doubt a massively corrupt place, but Hermitage isn't a disinterested observer. Exposing corruption is part of its investment strategy.

From their web page:

The firm pursues its investment strategy by taking significant positions in companies which are undervalued to their peers both locally and worldwide. Sometimes, these companies have attractive assets but suffer from poor corporate governance. Hermitage’s unique research enables the firm to identify companies that have solid fundamentals, unjustifiably cheap valuations and "hidden assets" overlooked by the market.

Hermitage was co-founded by banker Edmond Safra, who died under very strange circumstances in Monaco in 1999.
posted by up in the old hotel at 1:28 PM on December 19, 2009