The volume of palladium in Gokhran’s reserves is a state secret, but it holds one of the world’s biggest gold and currency reserves of around $460 billion, Reuters reported. By doling some of this out to Norilsk, Putin could help Potanin, a loyal ally, and help himself by boosting Norilsk’s ability to turn a profit in what is sure to be a brutal Russian economic landscape in 2015. By acquiring more gold and platinum and selling it to his friends in Russian industry, Putin’s finance ministry can then artificially boost the bottom lines of other Russian industrial giants. Palladium, of course, will need to be in supply deficit as Potanin is predicting it will be.