Editorial comment
For much of its history, Russia has looked west. But with its European neighbours in an economic quagmire, it is Siberia – and the dynamic economies that neighbour it – that are now attracting attention. Sparsely populated and more famous as a place of exile and imprisonment, this region holds huge natural resources: some 75 – 80% of Russia’s coal is found there, for example. But it also lies close to the markets that have been driving the global economy in recent years: from Russia’s Far East, it takes as little as four days to transport goods by sea to China. Compare this to 14 days from Australia, 23 days from South Africa and 35 days from Brazil, and the advantage is clear.
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For much of its history, Russia has looked west. But with its European neighbours in an economic quagmire, it is Siberia – and the dynamic economies that neighbour it – that are now attracting attention. Sparsely populated and more famous as a place of exile and imprisonment, this region holds huge natural resources: some 75 – 80% of Russia’s coal is found there, for example. But it also lies close to the markets that have been driving the global economy in recent years: from Russia’s Far East, it takes as little as four days to transport goods by sea to China. Compare this to 14 days from Australia, 23 days from South Africa and 35 days from Brazil, and the advantage is clear.
