Posted on 07/31/2014 10:06:50 PM PDT by elhombrelibre
MOSCOW (Reuters) - For all the sanctions Western leaders can throw at Russia, the biggest threat to President Vladimir Putin's ability to back separatists in east Ukraine is something beyond his or their control: the price of oil.
With Russia's $2 trillion economy heavily dependent on crude exports, oil prices are always closely monitored by the Kremlin, but the government is particularly wary now as tensions with the West mount and sanctions ratchet up.
Such conflicts often push up crude prices, but as long as oil, which accounts for 40 percent of state revenues, remains above the average $104 per barrel written into the 2014 budget, Moscow has little immediate need to worry.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
People can say how swell things are in Russia all they want. And they'll be right that it's better than it was, but Russia is still a vast and poor country. The average Russian earns around $800.00 month.
Europe is going to freeze this winter if they Putin decides to turn off their gas. And we won’t be able to get to the Space Station. But Putin doesn’t seem to be a capitalist. He likes the West’s money.
Yeah, turning off Europe’s gas would do wonders for the Russian economy, like suicide.
Bttt
You are in denial...you are betting that Russia can’t take the pain for as long as Europe can take freezing with no natural gas for heating this Winter.
Putin’s strategy doesn’t need to be pain-free to Russia. You don’t understand that part.
Putin’s strategy merely needs to be more painful to Western Europe than to Russians.
And you’re thinking that Putin has totalitarian control that will allow him to run Russian without any revenue until Europe cracks and buy Russian gas. Europe needs Russian oil and gas, but Europe doesn’t only get oil and gas from Russia.
So?
Who cracks first: a freezing Europe or a broke Russia?
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