December 14, 2012

Putin's Petroleum Problem

Thane Gustafson, Foreign Affairs

AP Photo

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has become increasingly addicted to oil, which has underwritten bad policies and allowed Putin to buy off key constituencies and the masses. But petroleum could also hold the key to Russia’s salvation. The supply of cheap oil is running out, and Russia’s best hope of responding to the coming crunch is making the sort of changes liberal reformers have been pushing for years.

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TAGGED: oil, Russia, Vladimir Putin

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