re: #86 darthstar

Something tells me Putin’s grip on power is about to become somewhat more tenuous. With the EU threatening economic rat-fuckery, the US proposing limited sanctions, and allies like the head of one of Russia’s gas companies cashing in his stock and running for the hills, my guess is this is the most thought out political maneuver since the GOP shut down the US government last fall.

For the short term I think Putin will be fine. This is well thought out, he knows how far he can push and what we’re likely to do to counter him. Russians safely moved all their US bonds off shore this week so their investment is safe. They’re close to sealing a trade deal for Iranian oil in exchange for building new nuclear plants. They can probably weather any sanctions we’ll put on them without much trouble.