http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-14/is-russia-pulling-money-out-of-u-dot-s-dot-for-safekeeping
There's new evidence that Russia has pulled money out of the U.S. after the recent events in the Ukraine for safe keeping. The federal reserve holds U.S. treasury securities in custody on behalf of foreign central banks and other institutions. From only March 5th to March 12th the Feds holdings have declined by $105 billion. Russia is most likely withdrawing the money so the U.S. can't freeze it while Russia braces for the next round of sanctions. This same sort of thing happened in 1957 when Russia moved money out of the U.S. for fears that the U.S. would economically punish Russia for its invasion of Hungary.
Russia seems to be in a very tough spot right now. While the Russian parliament supports the annexation of Crimea, many Ukrainians do not. Many western leaders are supporting economic sanctions against Russia. It would make sense for the Russians to pull securities out of the US before those sanctions are put in place. The US Sect. of State, and the British Prime Minister are both saying there will will be major consequences if the issue is not resolved. This will be a scary but exciting week for those living in the area as their future is up in the air.
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