We have seen how Putin rolls. When the economy and inflation get bad he gives the pensioners an increase- at a time when he can least afford it. But he needs to keep them happy because they are the old soviet base that will put up with all his mis-adventures as long as they get their checks. So he gives them an increase and hopes that he can end the war before things get too bad with the economy. Putin is willing to fight Ukraine but he knows he cannot fight the babushkas who are dependent on the husbands pension check. Nope. The babushkas don't take any prisoners. That is what he did right after the invasion and sanctions set in. He gave the pensioners an increase right when he could least afford it. I can see that coming again soon. He will be all set if Trump ends the war but he will be fucked if the war drags on. He is spending and deploying troops at a balls to the wall pace assuming that it will get him in a good bargaining position but he is spread very thin - both economically and militarily. I cannot afford both my potatoes and my vodka this month, Vlad.
Name something nearly completely worthless. Russia’s ruble is still worth less than a penny, and the Kremlin’s piggy bank for propping it up is running low https://fortune.com/2024/11/30/rubl...s-penny-us-dollar-wealth-fund-vladimir-putin/
Complete collapse of the Russian agricultural sector reported today. How long before there is famine in Russia? Crop yield drop Wheat: -9% Barley: -11% Corn: -26% Buckwheat: -7% Sunflower: -7% Soybeans: -14% Rapeseed: -11% Sugar beet: -22% Potatoes: -9%
Plus the sanctions limit their ability to import foreign agricultural products to compensate for their domestic shortfall. Russia is highly dependent on foreign workers from places like Mongolia and K-stan to work in agriculture. Not surprisingly, Vlad's mobilizing them into the Russian army and sending them to Ukraine has drastically cut down the number of seasonal workers willing to come or to stay. Funny how that happens.
Lower oil prices coupled with the oil refinery infrastructure being hit -- make it harder to fund Putin's war. So sad! Falling oil prices hit Moscow’s war chest https://english.nv.ua/business/russian-oil-and-gas-revenues-plunge-for-second-month-50471917.html Russia's oil revenues, a key source of funding its war effort against Ukraine, fell for the second month in a row amid lower prices for the country's crude, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 4, citing Finance Ministry data released the same day. Russia's oil-related taxes raised 605.2 billion rubles ($5.8 billion) for the budget last month, down 21% from a year earlier. The Finance Ministry calculated the month's taxes based on a price of $64.72 a barrel for Russia's main export blend, Urals, down from $81.69 a year ago. The drop came after oil prices plunged on fears of a global glut. Russia's total revenues from oil and gas sales, which account for nearly 76% of all industry revenues, fell nearly 17% to 801.7 billion rubles ($7.8 billion) in November. Russia's oil revenues, a key source of funding its war effort against Ukraine, fell for the second month in a row amid lower prices for the country's crude, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 4, citing Finance Ministry data released the same day. Russia's oil-related taxes raised 605.2 billion rubles ($5.8 billion) for the budget last month, down 21% from a year earlier. The Finance Ministry calculated the month's taxes based on a price of $64.72 a barrel for Russia's main export blend, Urals, down from $81.69 a year ago. The drop came after oil prices plunged on fears of a global glut. Russia's total revenues from oil and gas sales, which account for nearly 76% of all industry revenues, fell nearly 17% to 801.7 billion rubles ($7.8 billion) in November.
Has Russia's economy been demolished yet? This thread is...what, coming up on 3 years old? We were told by the NPC that grocery stores would run out of food, planes would fall from the sky, etc. Another great contra-prediction thread by GWB_NPC. Spends all day pulling articles, and none of them come true.
Nobody wants to buy Russian military gear after seeing what utterly useless crap it is in Ukraine. Russian arms exports plummet by 92% as 'military-industrial complex has failed' https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/russian-arms-exports-plummet-92-34259461
Russia needs to watch out for this. AND Iran as well- or should I say, especially. I won't replay some of this discussion because I did a long ditty on it not long ago. But, in general, both Trump and Saudi Arabia are looking to get back on the beat where they were when Biden came in and things fell apart. The October 7 attack was for the purpose of killing the peace deal and cooperation Saudi Arabia and Israel. Bonesaw there in Saudi Arabia is a barbarian but he also is committed to making Saudi Arabia a world class economic force beyond an oil based economy. In addition he is a Sunni and the Iranians are Shia and he does not like them controlling the palestineans who are also Sunni. He is more than willing to cooperate with Israel to see Hamas and Hezbollah dislocated and have the Saudis take control or have major influence on the rebuilding of Gaza and West Bank negotiations. Okay, I will stop there. It is a snaky region and there are a lot of moving parts. But if Bonesaw and Jared and Trump and Bibi are talking then Bonesaw sees an advantage to giving Trump lower oil prices in order to gut Iran's and Russia's revenue in return to Trump helping Saudi interests- which oh by the way are probably Israel's the Palestineans/sp interests too. More to come. Not saying it will happen but it adds to Russia's and Iran's vulnerability and things they need to worry about. How Saudi Arabia could create a crisis for Russia's economy https://finance.yahoo.com/news/saudi-arabia-could-create-crisis-150002454.html
In a few months he will be saying that 150 versus the dollar is "reasonable". Russia’s Richest Man Sees Ruble at 100-110 Versus Dollar as ‘Reasonable’ By Bloomberg News December 14, 2024 at 7:49 AM EST https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-ruble-at-100-110-versus-dollar-as-reasonable An exchange rate of 100 to 110 rubles per US dollar is “reasonable” as it balances the interests of the state and exporters, Vladimir Potanin, Russia’s richest man, said on Saturday. The range “is something quite reasonable in economic terms, something that the country can live with,” Potanin said in an interview with RBC TV. “This is a kind of balance between budgetary interests and the interests of exporters.”