Nouriel Roubini writes deeply critical article suggesting Russian bankers might be better off emigrating

Nouriel Roubini is not a fan of Russia. He's published a long and critical article of the country on his Economonitor website. According to Jason Corcoran, Bloomberg's Russian columnist, addressing Nouriel on Twitter, the article hasn't gone down very well with bankers at Troika Dialog.

What's the problem with it? Roubini says Russia isn't a, "dynamic emerging market," like China, Brazil and India, but simply, "an authoritarian state built on Mr Putin’s reputation as a tough guy and the export of oil, gas, other natural resources and little else."

"Corruption is endemic" claims Nouriel, and, "much of Russia’s commercial elite still views the country as a wealth generator but not a long-term investment bet."

None of this sounds particularly promising for Russia's financial services sector. It follows last week's VTB roundtable where only 10% of attendants thought Moscow could become an important financial centre . However, it's worth bearing in mind that Goldman's former Russian head, Chris Barter, is of a different opinion. Barter said recently that Russia was a better place for investors to do business than China and that claims of corruption are outmoded.