• Putin faces media in ‘moment of truth’ as Russia’s economy reels

    Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the media at his annual press conference Thursday as the country faces a crisis that evokes memories of the post-Soviet dystopia of 1998. Sanctions imposed by the U.S. and Europe after Putin’s invasion of Crimea and the tumbling price of oil have pushed Russia’s ...

  • Wonkblog: Checkmate, Putin. Russia’s economy is stuck in a catch-22.

    Well, that escalated quickly.It didn't take long for Russia to go from having a reasonable facsimile of an economy to having none at all. Not when oil prices have fallen 50 percent the past few months. That's because Russia never so much had an economy as an oil-exporting business that subsidized ...

  • Russia’s shriveling economy becomes a global threat

    Russia’s suddenly escalating financial crisis risks spilling beyond its borders and endangering parts of the global economy. With economies in Japan, China, Europe and Latin America already ailing, fresh threats have emerged from Russia’s shriveled currency, its move to dramatically boost interest rates, the damage from plummeting oil prices and ...

  • Wonkblog: ?Sorry, Putin. Russia’s economy is doomed

    A funny thing happened on the way to Vladimir Putin running strategic laps around the West. Russia's economy imploded.The latest news is that Russia's central bank raised interest rates from 10.5 to 17 percent at an emergency 1 a.m. meeting in an attempt to stop the ruble, which is down 50 ...