To me it also seems eminently reasonable that state governments invest in the world economy at large. Indeed, such arrangements give me hope that the world might not devolve into another devastating war.

I guess what I don't understand, and what hopefully someone could help unravel, is why the Russia state banks worked to conceal the investment. The article itself points out that "There is nothing illegal about foreign state-owned institutions investing in American companies." So what are Milner and the shell companies for? That I can tell, Milner holds no relevant board seats, so if it was a play for convert influence, it doesn't seem to have paid off yet. Was it tax scheme? Really perplexing to me what the Russian motives were here.