And fifth, the lack of clarity in the legal systems of the two countries makes it difficult to calculate profitability and thus determine whether an investment is wise or not Third, like Nigeria,Russia has too many different government players for any company to know whose decision will stick.ДЇourth, both countries вЂњhistorically have very high levels of corruption,вЂќ something that makes it difficult for US firms, restrained as they are by anti-corruption laws, to operate. Second, the legal systems of the two countries are poorly articulated. First, for Russia as for Nigeria, state policy is inconsistent and thus makes investing more risky. (That this analogy is now widespread in Moscow is suggested by the simultaneous appearance of another article, this one by Petr Svoekoshtny on the portal entitled вЂњNorthern NigeriaвЂќ ( /article/7/russia/).)ДЄccording to Polunin, the Coca-Cola HBC report makes five basic points. In an article posted yesterday on the вЂњSvobodnaya pressaвЂќ site and entitled вЂњNigeria in the Snow,вЂќ commentator Andrey Polunin said that in the view of foreign investors as expressed in a report by the Swiss Coca-Cola HBC, вЂњRussia stands closest of all to вЂ¦ NigeriaвЂќ because of the nature of its political and economic system ( /society/article/64866/). Now, the analogy is being made by Russian analysts, horrifies Western business interests, and suggests that it is precisely RussiaвЂ™s similarity with Nigeria on a wide range of economic and political measures including corruption and government inefficiency that is the heart of the matter and cannot be obscured by snow.

In the earlier time, the analogy was made by a Western political leader, horrified Soviet citizens, and suggested that RussiaвЂ™s military strength was the thing that set it apart from a much weaker country. The three differences between these declarations tell a great deal about the path that Russia has followed over the last generation. Twenty-five years ago, German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt characterized the Soviet Union as being an вЂњUpper Volta with missiles.вЂќ Now, Russian analysts, in response to findings of a Swiss firm, have suggested that a better analogy might be between the Russian Federation and a вЂњNigeria with snow.вЂќ (Window on Eurasia вЂ“ Paul Goble вЂ“ Staunton, FebruвЂ“ )

Kontomble upper volta