The Economist.

Hello and welcome to the Intelligence from The Economist.

Hello and welcome to the Intelligence from The Economist. I'm your host

Jason Palmer. Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events

shaping your world. All of the parts are in place for a giant commodity boom, in particular to fuel the

transition to green energy and electric vehicles.

But there's quite a bit of uncertainty

that such a super cycle is coming,

because there's so much uncertainty in the world.

And many football fans cheered when Saudi Arabia's State Investment Fund bought a chunk of Newcastle United, a top lead British team.

But big money from a controversial country into a team, its city, and its region

sparks some soul-searching questions.

First up, though. The three minute ad opens on a man alone,

the three minute ad opens on a man alone sitting on the corner of his bed,

thoughtful, wistful.

His voice over in Russian recalls his late father

speaking with pride about the Soviet Union. union.

The video cuts to archive footage of Soviet cosmonauts as he talks of advancements made in science and the bygone respect of the world.

That past sense of pride he says is what drove him to become a paratrooper and then an agent in Russia's security services.

But he asks himself, does he now have the courage to address the great betrayal?

He sees his country led by people more interested in yachts than in soldiers eating

rotten potatoes.

...