While Russian stocks struggled mightily last year, Templeton Asset Management’s Mark Mobius says they are the most attractive of the “BRIC” nation equities in 2012.

Mobius tells Investment Week that the Russian market “is still extremely cheap … trading at an average P/E ratio of below 10, which is too cheap to ignore,” and says he “will be adding to the position over the course of the year.”

“Out of all the BRIC nations,” Mobius adds, “Russia is the best investment opportunity this year as the country has faced a number of uncertainties which has led to the cheap valuations. One element that is perhaps overlooked by the market is the strength of the Russian oil industry, which has performed well so far this year.”

According to Investment Week, Mobius has 16% of his BRIC fund in Russian stocks.