Putin’s regime may be close to a Soviet collapse – The Telegraph
Putin’s regime may be approaching a collapse similar to that of the Soviet Union, writes The Telegraph.
▫️ The Russian economy, which has held up for two years, is now facing serious challenges: rising interest rates up to 21% to curb inflation are creating critical difficulties for businesses and banks.
▫️ Prolonged monetary pressure is becoming dangerous for the economy, and if the situation doesn’t change, most companies risk going bankrupt.
▫️ The revival of the Soviet military-industrial complex is cannibalizing the rest of the economy.
▫️ Russia’s Minister of Digital Technologies stated that the shortage of IT workers is around 600,000, the defense industry has 400,000 unfilled vacancies, and the total labor shortage is about 5 million.
▫️ In November, tax revenues from oil dropped to $5.8 billion due to the decline in the price of Urals oil to $65 per barrel, which could fall further.
▫️ Putin is using the National Welfare Fund to cover the deficit, and its liquid assets have fallen to a 16-year low of $54 billion, while its gold reserves have dropped from 554 to 279 tons in 15 months.
▫️ The United States has tightened sanctions, imposing restrictions on Gazprombank and over 50 Russian banks, making it more difficult to trade energy and purchase technology on the black market.
▫️ Few predicted the sudden and complete collapse of the Soviet regime, although signs of economic decline and imperial overreach were already evident by 1989.
▫️ Putin’s regime has not yet reached its breaking point, but changes in the Middle East, such as an increased supply of cheap oil from Saudi Arabia, could push oil prices below $40 and Russia will spin out of economic control.
This is yet another indication that, through its war against Ukraine, the Kremlin is driving the Russian economy toward collapse, despite its claims of a “controlled situation” in the economy.
