Re: Russian Gas ban - A problem for Europe or suicide for Russia?
I think that the West was surprised by the calm reaction of the Russian banking system to the SWIFT disconnection (although it seems to be presented as an economic nuclear bomb). It turned out that the banking system of Russia is perhaps the most progressive in the world, without problems with legacy, mainframes, punched cards and cobols - flexible, manageable and easily customizable.
Well again
To begin with, it was not the Russian banking system that was disconnected from SWIFT, but part of the banks that fell under sanctions. Is the difference really noticeable? Or is it not true - have they disconnected the ENTIRE BANKING SYSTEM of Russia from SWIFT?
Secondly, the financial regulators allowed some Russian banks to accept payments, at least to pay in CURRENCY (EURO or Dollar) for gas and oil supplies ... Is this true?
So the statement about the fact that "the West is in shock" resembles the famous saying of the propagandists "NATO in shock", which they put everywhere with or without reason.