With the ruble in the dumps and the Russian economy in shambles, Vladimir Putin’s compatriots can easily count the cost of his territorial ambitions. Moscow depends on other countries for financing, capital investment, and export markets. Make those countries angry, and pillars of the Russian economy begin to collapse. Yet China, which has its own territorial claims, could be far more difficult to corral.
If Russia were not so reliant on the rest of the global economy, then the toll of its actions in Ukraine would be far less stark. Limits on Russian banks’ international activities, transactions with Russian energy countries, …read more
Source: Foreign Policy
