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Well, if by self-sufficiency you mean Russia's ability to survive adversity, then I am on board with this. The nation has demonstrated it numerous times throughout its history. However, if you are talking about the Russian economy shrugging off sanctions, especially, as stringent as in Iran's case, I respectfully disagree. Export makes up 1/5 of Russia's GDP, and brings cold hard cash to support various ambitious programs, like socio-economic development of the Arctic zone, or space exploration. Even without any serious sanctions in effect right now, Russia already faces outflow of investments and a possibility of zero or negative growth this year. Once living standards start go down, Putin's popularity will take a hit, and dissenting voices become louder.

Yes, unlike NATO, the U.S. government can fast-track decisions on use the military to "protect national interests". But making a case that Ukraine falls into this category in a war-weary country requires Houdini skills.

by aquilon (albaruthenia at gmail dot com) on Thu Apr 3rd, 2014 at 10:56:06 PM EST
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