"A sort of disaster"

That's what one banker doing business in Russia says of his investments there.

"I have assets in both Georgia and Russia and I'm going to get out. What seemed a great idea at that time has become a sort of disaster," said a 31-year-old banker at one of the world's top 10 investment banks, who -- like most here -- spoke on condition of anonymity.

An article in the NYTimes examines the effect of the invasion of Georgia on the Russian economy, suggesting that, however weak the official Western response to Russian aggression has been, the country could pay big in regard to foreign investment.

Russian shares have lost about a third of their value since hitting record highs in May. Russian and Western bank analysts polled by Reuters have cut forecasts for Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves.

As much as $25 billion in foreign capital may have left Russia since the Georgia conflict started, they said: while their growth forecasts were little changed at 7.5 percent, the crisis sharply cut the liquidity of the banking system.

BP's experience in the country doesn't recommend putting your money there, and this latest bullying only supplements the case against it.