Atlantic Council: Putin’s ruble ploy confirms that energy exports are his lifeline

2022-03-29 | Energy, Escalation strategy

By Charles Lichfield. The West’s unprecedented sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine are expected to shrink the Russian economy by up to 15 percent this year. However, the Kremlin’s response so far suggests that Russia still has tools at its disposal to help it defend against a total economic meltdown, unless its energy export revenue tap is turned off.