"I've long favored Russia for investment, building my case around its energy sector and the infrastructure boom taking place," says Yiannis Mostrous in Silk Road Investor. Here are his top energy plays.

"Russia is currently in a sweet spot: It's a net oil exporter, has solid GDP growth, isn't dependent on foreign capital flows, is politically stable, has reasonable market valuations and, above all, enjoys solid exposure to the biggest growth story of our time, Asia.

"Russia's GDP grew by 8.5% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2008, stronger than expectations. The expansion was broad based: construction, manufacturing, electricity generation and services all showed healthy growth.

"Russia's energy companies have underperformed because of the relatively heavy tax burden imposed by the state. But the Russian economy has turned around, and the government has announced tax cuts that will take effect 1 January 2009, saving the industry USD1.30 per barrel of crude produced.

"The result should be massive earnings boosts for the Russian oil companies, especially as oil prices remain high. And the increased cash flow will allow the industry to spend freely in new projects in its quest to increase production and improve current operations.

"Although Russian oil companies have rallied substantially since the tax-cut announcement, the re-rating of the Russian energy sector will be a multi-year theme because the companies remain relatively undervalued.

"At the same time, investors have also begun to shed their phobias about putting capital to work in Russia, providing further momentum. OAO GAZPROM (OTC: OGZPY) and LUKOIL (OTC: LUKOY) have long been my favorite Russian energy companies."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.