""On Sunday, Crimeans overwhelming voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. The news came as little surprise, and the events have since been criticized by the United States and the European Union, both of which are busy slapping sanctions on Russia.
As one of the biggest events since the Cold War continues, investors are presented with a few ways to buy on the cheap as fear flows in the markets"".
Exchange-traded fundsFor now, there is no Ukraine ETF, but there are plenty of Russia ETFs. One of my favorites is the iShares Russia Capped ETF (NYSEMKT: ERUS ) which has a 10-day average daily volume of nearly a million shares providing sufficient liquidity. It's also one of the higher-yielding ETFs, yielding around 3%.
Another one of my top ETFs for Russia is the Market Vectors Russia Index ETF . This ETF also yields around 3% but has a 10-day average trading volume of nearly ten million shares.
Both ETFs offer investors a way to gain exposure to Russian stocks across many industries. Although the ETFs do come with expense ratios of around 0.6%, they still remain one of the cheaper ways for retail investors to gain exposure to Russian stocks.
Industry-specific playIf you're looking for a really contrarian pick, Russian energy giant Gazprom finds itself right in the middle of Russian politics. Formed out of the USSR Gas Industry Ministry in 1989, Gazprom was eventually converted into a joint stock company where the Russian government has a 51% stake.
Being both under control of the Russian government and exporting a product that could see new sanctions, Gazprom may be the most contrarian play in the Ukrainian crisis.
But for the risk Gazprom investors take, they can get an energy giant for less than three times earnings -- a level well below the average of other energy giants, and even below the valuation of the broader Russian market. Although Gazprom has traded at a discount to peers for quite some time, the latest dip in Russian stocks has depressed its valuation even further, and a solution to the crisis could allow Gazprom shares to rebound.
Source: The Motley Fool
