Maybe the Russians REALLY want to know if they can open a channel to start selling all their out-dated military garbage laying around so they can raise some extra cash?
But why go to the U.S.?They can get for FREE so many "secrets" about the U.S. from anyone in the U.N. these days! And get a few million free oil receipts too for their labor!
Russia is either the top or second largest exporter of oil in the world. The nation is huge and laden with natural resources. The Russians are known to be some of the savviest commodities traders on the globe.
"raise some extra cash?" That's a holdover myth from the old days.