After corporate warfare, real war. For investors, the Georgian conflict compounds what has been an appalling recent Russian news flow. Confidence has been buffeted by the shareholder fight at TNK-BP, which remains unresolved, and even more by prime minister Vladimir Putin’s verbal assault on steelmaker Mechel. The oil and commodity prices that have underpinned the Russian investment story are declining too.

All that has sent the market down by about a third from its previous high. The consolation is that the Russian market has bounced back from plunges of similar magnitude four times in four years. At current levels, Russian stocks are trading at 8.6 times earnings, according to Credit Suisse, a 20 per cent discount to the global emerging markets average of 10.7. It is starting to appear oversold.