Russia now, after an aggressive pattern of buying gold in recent years, has acquired 1/8th of the gold of the U.S. Russia has 1/8th the economy of the U.S., too, so in terms of the gold-to-GDP ratio they have attained parity. They've been very transparent about their buying, in contrast to the Chinese. Putin has also, not coincidentally, been very clear that he doesn't want the U.S. dollar to continue to hold a central position in world markets.
- Source, James Rickards via Alpha Hunter: