Don't take stock tips from Vladimir Putin

Posted By Joshua Keating Friday, December 12, 2008 - 11:33 AM Share

A very sad story from the Washington Post's Philip Pan:

[W]hen he heard radio ads two years ago encouraging citizens to invest in the initial public offerings of state-owned companies, Sisoyev lined up to buy shares, first in the oil-and-gas giant Rosneft and a year later in the nation's second-largest bank, VTB.
Sisoyev had suffered in Russia's rocky transition to capitalism, but the "people's IPOs," as they were billed by the Kremlin, seemed different. Then-President Vladimir Putin endorsed the stock offerings, presenting them as a chance for ordinary Russians -- and not just the wealthy -- to own a piece of the booming economy.
Now, as Russia confronts its worst economic crisis in a decade, the value of Sisoyev's shares has plummeted, wiping out most of his life savings. At 65, he is working as a part-time security guard because food prices are climbing faster than his meager pension.[...] "I believed in the state, especially under Putin, so I bought shares," said Sisoyev, a soft-spoken man with white hair and a soldier's posture. "Now I don't believe in anything."

As predicted, Russia's financial crisis is starting to hit main street and it's going to take more than emergency loans to oligarchs to keep the public's trust.

EXPLORE:ECONOMICS, RUSSIA

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