Russian business climate

Available for over a year

Should investors avoid Russia, because of state interference, a flaky legal system, corruption and violence? Lesley Curwen talks to two foreign investors with opposing views. Hedge fund manager Bill Browder alleges his former lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was tortured and died in a Russian prison. Mr Browder, the CEO of Hermitage Capital Management says anyone contemplating investing in Russia should "lay down for a while and wait until the urge passes" because it is "truly dangerous." Jochen Wermuth disagrees. He is founder of the Greater Europe investment funds which have invested over $1bn there. He argues Russia is changing, the population has had enough of corruption, and says "what makes us stay is the great opportunity to participate in the change." However he also admits things cannot get much worse. Plus, our technology correspondent Jeremy Wagstaff wonders whether Skype will actually benefit from being snapped up by Microsoft.