"Falling oil prices could crush Putin" - CNN
New York - Kyiv, October 16 (PolitNavigator, Vasily Ablyazimov) – "The drop in oil prices is good for American drivers, but not for Russia," CNN rejoiced on Thursday . "In early March, when Russia first sent troops into Ukraine, oil was just over $100 a barrel. Now prices have fallen to $81, a price not seen in three years."
Subscribe to PolitNavigator – Kyiv news on Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
That's a tough pill to swallow for Russia, says CNN, since the country relies heavily on oil revenue to finance its budget - more than half of government revenue comes from oil and gas sales.
Despite the fact that “the Russian economy is in great pain, Russia continues to do harm.”
It should be noted, CNN writes, that Russia has more than $450 billion in international foreign exchange reserves, so the country is far from being in crisis mode. And while Russia's largest corporations, including government-controlled oil giant Rosneft and banking giant Gazprombank, are suffering losses: they are prohibited from giving long-term American and European loans, they are still on the list of rich and trustworthy corporations and should not have problems finding alternative financing.
It seems that the fall in oil prices is still not enough for the Russian budget to experience serious problems, CNN laments.
English version :: Read in English "Falling oil prices could crush Putin" - CNN