The biggest news to come out of Russia this month wasn’t the announcement of temporary asylum for National Security Agency beans-spiller Edward Snowden, or word that President Obama has refused to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at next month’s G-20 summit, or even the latest pictures of Putin in a Speedo.
No, the most significant news about our former Cold War foe came straight from the World Bank, which announced that the once-slumbering Russian bear now has the biggest economy in Europe and the fifth-largest in all the world.
And it is that achievement that should be at the top of the White House agenda when it comes to Russian-American relations during the rest of Obama’s days in office.
Blessed with an abundance of natural resources, Russia is the world’s largest producer of oil, while the US continues to be the world’s No. 1 importer, despite the fact that we are second in oil production.
It’s that energy independence — not to mention $100-a-barrel oil — that has helped Russia recover more quickly from the global financial crisis than virtually any other Western economy.
In Russia, that means bragging rights as a country that has a balanced budget; a debt-to-GDP ratio of under 10 percent; and the lowest unemployment rate in 20 years, coming in at an enviable 5.4 percent.
As I write this in the south of France, the resurgence of the Russian bear is on full display, where the Putin family is reportedly the biggest owner of prime real estate on the Côte d’Azur.
Restaurateurs and high-end merchants say that it’s only the Russians among visitors here who are spending like it is 2007. Menus come in Russian, and a once English-speaking sailing school for young 1-percenters now has instructors barking out commands in the mother tongue of Russia.
Little wonder Putin is enjoying a shot of testosterone this summer at America’s expense.
Yes, with the Winter Olympics coming to Sochi next year and ally Bashar al-Assad holding his own in Syria, Putin is riding high.
Armed with a strong economy and a dictator’s mandate, he is well on his way to his goal of restoring Russia to superpower status.
America, take notice.