So all of the sudden, Russia doesn't look so ominous now that

[WCGreen]

Oil is selling for $60 bucks a barrel. They were all over Europe stomping Putin's heavy boot and all of sudden, the market falls apart and Russia is once again experiencing economic hardships...

Remember, a few strategically placed actions in the oil pits could control the ebb and flo of that volatile market.

Could that have been part of the rise in oil and then the sudden drop? Make a fool out of Putin? Discredit his leadership?

Just a little observation. A little musing.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. That sounds like a conspiracy theory to me.

Do you really think this could be happening?

I doubt it, though I could be wrong, of course.

Who has the kind of power/influence to do such a thing?

[lindisfarne]

2. They never should have looked all that ominous based on oil. In terms of natural resources,

(even without factoring in oil), Russia is extremely wealthy - more so than the US. Corruption is more their problem.

Putin's leadership has long been discredited. He made Russia far less free than it had been before he took power.