EDITORIAL: Putin is Drowning in his own Sewage

EDITORIAL

Putin is Drowning in his own Sewage

For the Russian Kremlin to balance its annual budget this year, the price of crude oil must average $123 per barrel.

It’s an astounding fact.  No other member of the G-8, and no member of BRIC, depends for budget solvency on the price of a commodity which is set abroad. Russia is, quite simply, not its own nation.

But there’s an even more horrifying reality for Vladimir Putin to face:  So far this year, the price of crude oil has actually averaged $78 per barrel — and just $75 per barrel this month.  That’s a whopping 40% less than the budget requires.

Vladimir Putin is drowning in the fetid sewage of his own economic mismanagement.