Private habits of Putin (Russian Crisis)

[LionFlyer]

I beg to differ.

Oil and gas revenue account for at least half of Russian revenues and the Russian Finance minister himself admitted recently[1] that their rearmament plan was based on the assumption that crude stays at $100 pb. With the ruble deflating and oil prices declining, it is hitting their pockets where it really hurts. As for China, they ain't doing much to directly support the Russian economy, but if any, it's more profiting from it.

Your question is really, what is Russia's end game with Ukraine? Would hurting their pockets stop the tanks from rolling and ships from sailing, because it doesn't seem to do squat now? I can't read the crystal ball but Putin seem to be the sort that don't want to lose face. He has committed his political capital to the Ukrainian adventure and he can only back away if he is seen as winning. It also means that he is prepared to let the economy go to shits if he has too.



Ref:
[1] http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/0...H420141007