Pros:
- It's a beaten down market with loads of potential for the upside. More than any other market:

- There are loads of policies against Russia in place. Mostly for expanding its territory. These policies are loosening, even more so now that Trump is president, and he's a pal with Russia.
- Oil is on the rise and Russia is a big oil exporter.

Cons:
- BDP isn't as impressive as with some growing countries like India
- The people in Russia isn't so youthful as in Turkey. Old people don't contribute to economic growth that much.
- Russia is unpredictable while markets like stability.
- It's been up 60% in one year, already. Easy money was already made.

The oil has taken quite a beating today.
http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/Future/CRUDE%20OIL%20-%20ELECTRONIC?countrycode=US
It will reflect in the price of Russia's stocks. You can use this downside as an entry point.

Despite past 60% growth, the valuations of Russia stocks were still very attractive. Due to oil bottoming, the stocks dropped by 10% in the last week. If you were flirting with Russia before, this might be a good time to plunge into her with all your zeal.

Does anyone on this group actually have the money to buy shares?

5848688 That's beyond the point, really.

Nopony on this site has a portal to Equestria. Despite that, we all keep tabs on what's going on in MLP universe.

It's the same here. It's a hobby. And if at some point you think you're starting to understand the markets, you might take your $100 in savings from your piggy bank and put them to work.

A recent observer noted the economic outlook for Russia is “very solid” – with the key oil price higher than assumptions in
all of their economic plans. Economic recovery is strong there. And there is a fan in the White House offering the prospect
of sanctions being lifted soon.
Fourth, feedback loops multiply. A stronger Eurozone & Russia lifted Eastern Europe.
In their latest PMI data, these overlooked countries manufacturing sectors look unexpectedly healthy.

Source: Zacks

Yes, oil prices dropped and it hurt Russia. However, despite that, things are looking good there. S&P agency has raised estimations for Russia from neutral to positive. Rubelj rose 7% against the dollar.

5797807
less concerned about putin and the people the I am about the oligarchs to be honest

5865255 Putin is good for Russian market because he's more or less stable and quite predictable. He steps over the line, sometimes, but we all know he's gonna do that from time to time. The point is, we know what his motives are.

And since we're on the subject. There will be elections in 2018 in Russia. Guess who's going to win. Putin. You can only get this kind of political stability in Russia.

On the dark side, stability is also hurting Russia a little. People really hate reforms there, but they are necessary. The economy isn't competitive enough and the retirement starts way to soon for people. We likely won't see any of this subjects addressed before the election.

5865438
holdover from communism?

5865781 Indeed. Communism was riddled with social services and aids. When you give a baby a candy, it's really hard to take it back.

However, they'll need to bite at the pillow if they want to have a chance to compete in the brave new world.

5865822
Hmm... I think if anyone has a chance, its them

5868390 Well, besides oil, they really don't have much to show for. People are getting old there and with the retirement reform absent, it's going to be a big strain on the economy. The countries that implemented socialism have a hard time transitioning from there because people are spoiled with benefits that they don't want to lose. Still, Putin is a powerful man. If anyone can do it, it would be him.

P/E of Russia is about 40% lower than comparable markets in Asia or Latin America. That means that on the long term, if the rest of the factors were equal, Russia would yield 40% more profit. Yes, the market is a bit risky, but the potential rewards are well worth it, IMO.

Oil is on the rise. Invest in Russia now!

Russia is underpriced as fuck:

, and now with soaring oil tailwind, it's prepping itself for a big rally. Get on board the Money Maker Russia Express!