Except oil and weapon, what things does Russian really have?
We all see that Russian is really weak in recently oil price crash.
The exchange rate of ruble and the inflation in Russian as follow the oil price crash imply that Russian is just a third - rate country who depends on selling cheap resources.
After the Soviet Union collapsed, the Economic of Russian growth just benefit from the oil price risen.
A lot of oil and other natural ressources, still large fiat and gold reserves and almost no debt. They raised the interest rate to 17% and the economy was still functionning. What would happen in Japan, US or Europe if the interest rate goes to 17%?