The calabash or bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria (synonym Lagenaria vulgaris Ser.), also known as opo squash or long melon, is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe.
He was lucky on the economic front. Oil and gas make up 16 percent of Russiaâs GDP, 52 percent of its budget, and more than 70 percent of its exports, and oil climbed in the 2000s from $24 to $100 per barrel. Mr. Putin used the money to reduce poverty and modernize the military.
Other countries, of course, will be hurt by the loss of oil revenue. But these three stand out for the way high-priced oil has bloated their geopolitical ambitions and financed their rogue behavior. Putin, attempting to reconstruct Moscowâs Soviet empire, has launched two military invasions of neighbors in six years.