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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Phillip Inman

Why Russia’s economy is unlikely to collapse even if oil prices fall

Vladimir Putin in Moscow on New Year’s Eve.
Vladimir Putin in Moscow on New Year’s Eve. Optimists have portrayed the Russian economy as a house of cards, vulnerable to economic pressure. Photograph: Mikhail Metzel/Kremlin/Planet Pix/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock

Pacing inside the Kremlin last weekend, as news feeds churned out minute-by-minute reports of Donald’s Trump’s Venezuelan coup, Vladimir Putin may have been wondering what it would mean for the price of oil.

Crude oil has lubricated the Russian economy for decades – far more than gas exports to Europe – and so the threat of falling oil prices, prompted by US plans for control of Venezuela’s rigs, will have been a source of concern.

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