Most surprising to hear is that Russian industrial output has made an amazing 20% leap since last year and its Gross Domestic Product has grown by more than one percent this quarter after many years of sharp decline. By American standards this is all rather pathetic seeing as how Russia's productivity is still 30% of America's, but in a country that has seen rampant corruption and consistent double-digit inflation, this news is actually rather promising. Some think the reason for this growth is the recent exposure and temporary undoing of the extreme corruption (like the $2.5 billion that just vanished) which plagues the Russian government. The IMFs decision to give Russia another chance to receive the next installment of its financial recovery loan is equally promising. But one can't help but be suspicious as to how Russia can pull off such a sudden recovery after spending billions of dollars obliterating Chechnya. The most probable explanation is that the 20% gain in industrial production only puts it 2% above the level it was at prior to the 1998 financial collapse. It is imagined, however, that any such gain will give foreign investors the needed excuse to pour more money into the puzzling Russian economy, hoping to reap the profits that this huge but misunderstood nations has to offer.