Fears of double-digit inflation are encouraging Russians to literally dig their cash from their mattresses and invest it in bank deposits, mutual funds and the like. Reuters reports that Russia's booming stock market is jump starting the domestic investment and savings business again, as wary Russians, burnt once before by inflation, pyramid schemes and banking crises, are again looking for ways to hedge inflation.  
"The crises of the past get forgotten, people feel more comfortable investing longer terms and are willing to save," Pavel Teplukhin of Moscow-based Troika Dialog, which recently saw about 1,000 people lineup for hours outside its brokerage offices earlier this year, told Reuters. Bank deposits in Russia soared 40% last year, and already in 2006, investors have put in more than $240 million in mutual funds.