Vladimir Putin’s Non-Economic Logic
Russia’s economic crisis was not caused by decisions taken by the West following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It was predicted and widely mediatized.
However, Russian leaders preferred to handle it politically, and use it to intensify internal public opinion against the West’s “aggression”. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that this opinion will turn around in the short term. Nationalist rhetoric and external belligerence will continue to mask serious economic difficulties.
Article published in Politique étrangère, Vol. 80, No. 2, Summer 2015