Oil was less than $40 a barrel throughout the 1990s, and went over $40 a barrel in 2004.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_of_oil#mediaviewer/File:Crude_oil_prices_since_1861.png
Interesting graph. The Russian economy collapsed in 1998 (the Default). The rising price of oil after 1999 is what saved the country. The economy is collapsing again...and will recover only when the price of crude rises again. The big questions is: when will that be?
