Word: petrodollar
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Russia is drinking, and without drinking we cannot be," said Prince Vladimir, ruler of the state of Kievan Rus in the 10th century, as he chose Christianity for the state religion over teetotal Islam. Never has Russia indulged her joy more than over the last five petrodollar-rich years, with alcohol from any land available to complement the fabulous abundance of domestic vodkas, at prices ranging from affordable at kiosks to exclusive at rare wine boutiques. But the joy abruptly ended on July 1. Citing the need to control alcohol quality and tax collection, the government has decreed that...
While that brought prosperity to the industrial, consuming nations, it bled the producers. OPEC members watched their petrodollar budgets slide into the red, and other exporters, such as Russia and Mexico, went virtually bankrupt from lost oil revenues. Finally, in the past year, OPEC's members woke up. Why should the West profit from unparalleled prosperity while they drew up austerity plans? They boosted the cost of crude by slowing production, until a barrel fetched nearly $35. Americans, like Europeans, started to grumble at the steady rise in the price they paid to gas up. By summer, U.S. drivers were...