Is Russia About To Suffer Another Economic Crash?
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Events are unfolding right before our very eyes
A country trapped in the past, back when it was a dominant power in Eurasia. A nation in the grips of a major identity crisis, entirely of its own making.
And one which sought to re-establish its dominance by embarking on ruinous wars on its former colonies. A step which hastened its economic collapse, when it defaulted on its debts to the IMF.
Long queues of people scavenging for food in the bins and exchanging vouchers given to them by the government for something to eat.
Incredibly, that was Russia in 1998.
Twenty four years on, Russia is locked in another war with one of its former colonies which it sees as its own.
To prosecute this war, Vladimir Putin has been reliant on his web of oligarchs, near and far, getting them to pay for everything to ensure that the war is a resounding success.
And just as it was in 1998, when it failed to properly count the cost of embarking on the reconquest of a territory, which was no longer its, the people of Russia are finding out about things the very hard way.
Multi-nationals have never been in such a hurry to divest, and the sanctions, which have been imposed on its lifeblood — Russia’s plutocrats — have begun to bite in ways never imagined. All of which have led to Russia staring into the abyss.
So what are the tell-tale signs of the 1998 economic crash recurring in 2022?
Inability to export its goods to the wider world.
Its exclusion from Swift, which made it possible to conduct business with the West has begun to sting in the worst possible way and China offering an outlet of sorts has done nothing to mitigate the pain.
Large numbers of people queuing up to remove their fast declining roubles (Russian currency) from the automated teller machine or cash points in and around Russia. And with an American oil embargo on Russia in the offing, life is about to get significantly worse for the Russian people.
With the profoundly corrupt management consultancies (Ernst and Young, McKinsey, Deloitte and PWC) upping and leaving the aggressor country, Russia…
