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Interessant stukje in The economist over de relatie tussen de olieprijs en de (agressieve) buitenlandpolitiek van de USSR/Rusland.

Mooi.



http://www.economist.com/blogs/graph...ampaign=buffer

That the oil price correlated with Soviet politics is not surprising – in the uncompetitive command economy oil and gas revenues accounted for 67% of all exports. But the correlation remained just as strong after the end of the Soviet Union and transition to a market economy, and oil and gas remained the main source of Russian export revenues. When Vladimir Putin came to power the price of oil was $25 a barrel. Mr Putin allied himself with America, did not object to NATO’s enlargement that took in the Baltic States and saw September 11th 2001 as Russia’s chance to get closer to NATO. Seven years later, when the oil price was at $105 a barrel, Russia invaded Georgia, and its relationship with America deteriorated dramatically. Thanks to the global financial crisis, oil prices soon fell to $67 a barrel, and Russia accepted Barack Obama's attempted "reset" (though that effort soon went sour).

Over the last two years, Russia has stepped up its aggressive stance abroad. The invasion of eastern Ukraine and annexation of Crimea took place when the price of oil was still over $100 a barrel. But as the oil price fell, Mr Putin did not become any friendlier to the West nor to its neighbours. Indeed, he offered the war in Ukraine and patriotic euphoria as a compensation for the falling oil prices and lack of economic growth. September 2015 saw Russia flex its military muscle further still, this time in Syria, its first Middle Eastern intervention in decades. To date it continues to carry out air strikes there in support of its long-time ally, embattled President Bashar Assad, against anti-government rebel targets (and to a lesser extent Islamic State). Russia's presence in the oil-rich region soon tested the limits of its already strained international relations after Turkey shot down one of its fighter jets in late November.

As Russia's foreign military actions continue to escalate, and the cost of a barrel of oil plummets to ever-more alarming depths, a happy ending to the contest between Mr Putin's regime and the oil price looks increasingly unlikely