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Putin claims Russia outpaces Germany and is now one of world's five largest economies
(www.pravda.com.ua)
in purchasing power parity
Background: Last week, the media reported on rolling blackouts in Russia. In Dagestan, for example, local authorities stressed that modernization of power networks was necessary, since problems had not been solved for 30 years. However, as of today, there are no funds to implement this.
Last week, the wholesale price of petrol in Russia has not only broken records numerous times, but also reached a historic high.
And this week, a number of Russian regions announced the absence of gasoline and diesel fuel at gas stations.
[If the Russian people had money and there were things to buy we'd be doing great! Obviously, the people have no money and there's nothing available to actually buy, but still...]