A retired Russian general's criticism may signal a larger problem for Putin

[L. Coyote]

21. Not a very good analysis for an economist who knows about Russia's oil and gas dependence.

Last edited Sun Feb 13, 2022, 01:52 PM - Edit history (2)

Putin has already accomplished his goal, raising the price of oil, the lifeblood of the Russian government and his personal wealth, to 20% higher than a year ago, a positive for Russia and a negative economic impact on the West and on liberal democratic leaders politically.

Starting a war would ruin Russia's economy and freeze a lot of oligarch assets in the west, likely including some of Putin's personal wealth, and might even result in Putin's political demise. Taking the world to what seems to be the brink of war only makes Pution and Russia a lot richer and helps him politically. Admitting this equation of course is admitting Putin has the power to exert significant impact on the global economy, so no surprise that it isn't part of the headlines and generally not mentioned, as we see here.

How do we know that the generals and Putin aren't just reading from the same script? The general is reinforing the idea that Putin might start a war. That just keeps the price of oil climbing.

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