Putin's Russia has threatened the US with a nuclear showdown over Crimea and the Baltic states(Reuters)
L. Todd Wood, Washington Times: Behind the Curtain: Putin’s financial wisdom
Russian President Vladimir Putin lived through the collapse of the Soviet Union, a fact often noted by pundits when attempting to offer a glimpse into his view of the world. However, Mr. Putin also lived through the Russian default and financial collapse of 1998, and both events have seared certain lessons into his psyche.
The onetime KGB operative is often quoted as lamenting that “the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century.” But it was not just the loss of geopolitical power that shocked Mr. Putin. It was the financial weakness that helped bring down the Soviet giant. You can see the lessons Mr. Putin learned in how he deals with financial realities that confront his country today.
First of all, the Kremlin paid down most of Russia’s sovereign debt and kept it low, well under 20 percent of gross domestic product. In fact, during the boom years, Russia issued bonds only to basically maintain access to the debt capital markets and to price Russian risk. In contrast, the most developed Western nations are at debt-to-GDP levels that historically have been where markets begin to question their will to pay back their obligations, with a financial crisis to follow. The financial irresponsibility in the West is astounding.
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WNU Editor: Like Putin .... I also lived during those rough times. Thankfully .... Russia is not where it was in the early 1990s (or in 1998) .... and I do credit Putin and his economic team for keeping the economy where it is today .... even with sanctions. But he still has to show to the Russian public that things will improve .... and I give him one more year to do it.
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