Imperialism
Russia
Ukraine
Fig. 1. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[1] fair use.
I am struggling with how to reconcile Vladimir Putin preparing Russia for a long war on Ukraine[2] with a deteriorating economic situation:[3]
There is no sign the economic difficulties are bad enough to pose a short-term threat to Russia’s ability to wage war. But state revenue shortfalls suggest an intensifying dilemma over how to reconcile ballooning military expenditures with the subsidies and social spending that have helped President Vladimir Putin shield civilians from hardship.
Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska warned this month that Russia is running out of cash. “There will be no money next year, we need foreign investors,” the raw-materials magnate said at an economic conference.[4]
Julia Ioffe, “Biden’s Private Ukraine Deadline,” Puck, March 28, 2023, https://puck.news/bidens-private-ukraine-deadline/
Georgi Kantchev and Evan Gershkovich, “Russia’s Economy Is Starting to Come Undone,” Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-economy-is-starting-to-come-undone-431a2878
Pjotr Sauer and Andrew Roth, “Putin prepares Russia for ‘forever war’ with west as Ukraine invasion stalls,” Guardian, March 28, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/28/putin-prepares-russia-for-forever-war-with-west-as-ukraine-invasion-stalls
Ahmed Twaij, “Bush did what Putin’s doing — so why is he getting away?” al Jazeera, March 28, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/3/28/putin-should-be-punished-so-must-bush
- [1]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q↩
- [2]Pjotr Sauer and Andrew Roth, “Putin prepares Russia for ‘forever war’ with west as Ukraine invasion stalls,” Guardian, March 28, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/28/putin-prepares-russia-for-forever-war-with-west-as-ukraine-invasion-stalls↩
- [3]Georgi Kantchev and Evan Gershkovich, “Russia’s Economy Is Starting to Come Undone,” Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-economy-is-starting-to-come-undone-431a2878↩
- [4]Georgi Kantchev and Evan Gershkovich, “Russia’s Economy Is Starting to Come Undone,” Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-economy-is-starting-to-come-undone-431a2878↩