USA TODAY: …Money is fleeing Russia, which is stalling its economic growth because it depends on foreign capital to keep its industry running. “It’s still a relatively poor country,” Krey says, and it’s suffering from years of misrule under communism…
The weakening ruble simply hastens capital flight from Russia. To foreign investors, Russia’s depreciating currency simply adds to their losses. For example, in U.S. dollar terms, the Russian stock index is down nearly 20%…
Krey says the West may try to give Putin an out that would let him save face, as it did with Khrushchev in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. “He’s trying to find a way out of this,” Krey says… (more)
EDITOR: We don’t believe that for a moment.
Putin is fashioned after his hero, Joseph Stalin. He is wildly popular for the moment because his blandishments salve the population’s sense of inferiority due to the disintegration of the Soviet empire.
But in the longer run, sanctions may well bring Russia to its knees. Given another three or four years, they may have lost their markets for natural gas. Then they will be a third class country with a second class military system.
More on Putin in the near future.
