Vladimir Gruzdev to the Moon

The Russian rumour mill has generated a likely candidate for who will be the nation's first space tourist. It widely believed he's a member of the State Duma and a supermarket tycoon, Vladimir Gruzdev. Forbes magazine estimates his wealth at $820 million, largely based on his interest in Seventh Continent as well as the MKapital real-estate company. He is also a member of the Russian parliament's lower house, representing the pro-presidential United Russia Party.

IS ANOTHER DEPRESSION LOOMING?

The analysts have long ago raised concern about the real estate prices becoming all-time high in the majority of countries. However, the chattel mortgage system postponed a crash. While the banks loaned money to the people who needed dwelling, the apartments and houses continued to be sold. And as a result the housing crisis turned out to be the debt crisis. This summer happened something that had to happen sooner or later. On a mass scale the Americans ceased to pay off the mortgage debts. Unlike Russia where the market was in 1998 wrecked by the officials, in the USA the citizens themselves did so. The outcome was the same – the banking crisis burst out. Shares have fallen and the exchanges began to fluctuate feverishly.

Russian investors in the Canadian market

Last year, the real estate development firm controlled by Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin gave investment bank Credit Suisse Group a handful of criteria it was looking for to buy a housing company. Yesterday, it announced it had a deal with the purchase of Port Hope, Ont.-based Viceroy Homes Ltd. Mr. Potanin - the world's 38th-richest individual with a personal fortune estimated at more than $13.5-billion (U.S.) according to Forbes Magazine - had a plan: To offer apartment-weary Muscovites detached homes in the suburbs. All his $30-billion holding company Interros needed was the right builder: A high-end provider of prefabricated homes, preferably one with a strong management team, good technology and the ability to handle a decent amount of volume.

Russia Attracting Investors

Russia was the leader among East European countries in attracting foreign direct investment into real estate in the first half of 2007, according to the latest research by real estate consultancy Knight Frank. A number of western investment funds and banks, including Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Immoeast, Quinn Group, JER Partners and Rutley Russia, have recently announced plans to invest millions of dollars into commercial and residential real estate in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the other big Russian cities.