Russia is home to immense quantities of natural resources, and that includes a lot of oil and natural gas. From the troubled Caucasian region to the Arctic region in the north, Russia as a country probably has the largest amount of undiscovered oil and natural gas in the world. Under Soviet rule, oil discovery and drilling was exclusively carried out by nationalized oil companies, which were not really the most efficient entities in the world. Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) hascozied up to Kremlin and Rosneft, making most of us shake our heads in disbelief.

I literally dropped my jaw when I read that Exxon Mobil chiefs have been talking with Vladimir Putin, the dictator who recently managed to get three female punk rock musicians from Pussy Riot imprisoned. Imprisoning the artists was a symbolic way of telling Russians and the world that Putin is not the kind of person to mess with, and that even a small time punk band can’t get away by criticizing him.

Putin has also been accused of rigging election ballots and usurping power for the third term. The dissent and resentment against him is palpable in Russia, but Putin has managed to silence his critics and leave foreign diplomats with no choice, but to agree to everything he says. In fact, even Hillary Clinton couldn’t do much when she met him recently to encourage him to take action against Syria’s Bashar Assad. To continue reading, click here.