Russia have been buying gold. I can't believe they removed your other post, although I actually can believe it. I went to Russia as part of my honeymoon in the early 2000s. We travelled through China, who are also accumulating gold and encourage their people to buy gold in their savings, then Mongolia continuing north into south eastern Siberia. We took the Trans Siberian Railway across Russia to Moscow. What a beautiful city. Interestingly much of the fantastic architecture is from the Stalin period. All we ever heard about or were shown were the large "Stalin concrete accommodation blocks". The people are conservative and polite with deep cultural and traditional values. I can understand why your mate was thinking about staying there.
