Is “the West” (whatever that means) mocking Russia for its dependency on oil and gas?
Not that I’ve seen.
In fact, speaking as an American history teacher who takes more interest in global affairs than most, I see no evidence that Americans think about Russia much at all, except when the Kremlin is being a nuisance by hacking into our computers and interfering in our elections.
However, concerning the health of the Russian economy - since you brought it up - simply relying on stuff you pull out of the ground doesn’t make for a thriving economic system. Russia’s top twenty exports are all natural resources, which makes Russia’s economic well-being extremely susceptible to fluctuations in commodity prices.
Maybe that is why Russia has an economy that is smaller than each of the U.S. states of New York, Texas, and California. The California economy by itself has almost twice the Gross Domestic Product as Russia.
Even Italy’s economy is bigger.
And it is getting worse, not better. Russia’s GDP declined from $1.64 trillion in 2019 to approximately $1.3 trillion in 2020.
Unfortunately for Russians, they do not make anything the rest of the world wants; not computers, cell phones, nor any other consumer technology that anyone outside of Russia is buying. In terms of exports, they are behind tiny Belgium and just ahead of the city-state of Singapore.
I don’t think people in the West are mocking Russia for this deficiency, but the Russian people should be asking some serious questions about how the Russian economy can be so anemic, while at the same time Vladimir Putin has managed to amass a fortune that has made him the richest man in the world; richer than Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos combined.
Perhaps that explains the “Putin Brain Drain.”
Since Putin came to power between 1.6 and 2 million Russians – out of a total population of 145 million – have left for Western democracies. This “Putin Exodus” is made up of highly educated middle and upper class Russians (44% have a Masters or PhD degree), IT workers, creative workers, political activists, and entrepreneurs. Nearly half are between the ages of 25 and 34.
I guess they are fed up with growing corruption and are looking for better economic opportunities.
That can’t be good for the Russian economy.
Yes, Russia has proven itself a pain in the ass when it comes to hacking, cyber-war, interfering in Western elections, and online propaganda. However, that is mostly a nuisance, which has been magnified because Putin has unexpectedly found a useful idiot who is currently occupying the White House.
However, that Kremlin asset will soon be gone, at which point Americans will go back to ignoring Russia.
Picture Source Wikipedia
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