Russia's Government Budget Is Being Squeezed By Lower Oil Prices

Reuters: As oil falls, Russia choked by military, social spending

My Comment: President Obama was right when he said that the only thing that was keeping the Russian economy afloat was high oil prices .... and if prices were to go down, they would impact their economy directly .... Russian economy attacked through oil prices – Obama (RT). As a result some hard decisions will need to be made by Putin next year .... and basically it all comes down to "guns or butter". His closest aides and advisers are telling Putin to cut the military budget .... Russia Has To Slash Military Spending To Balance The Budget ( Tim Worstall, Forbes) .... and my prediction is that he will hold back on making such a decision until the situation in Ukraine becomes more clearer .... i.e. war or peace. In the meantime .... hello recession .... Economist: Long Painful Recession in Store for Russia (VOA).