Russia rises

16.04.25: PRESIDENT Yuri Medvacov of Russia was re-elected yesterday with an increased majority, capping five years of economic progress and fuelling speculation that Russia might join the EU.

The transformation of Russia began 12 years ago following the 2013 treaty with China and Japan which opened southern Siberia to foreign investment.

At the time, economic chaos and the after-effects of the nuclear civil war had reduced Russia to Third World status. But by 2017, the country had divested itself of excess military spending and was importing huge amounts of East Asian capital while providing skilled labour for European companies establishing themselves along the Moscow-St Petersburg 'Golden Highway'.