The One Factor That Could Crash the Russian Economy

Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Russian economy expert Chris Weafer about the state of the Russian economy in 2025. They talk about inflation and its impact on people and business, why the ruble is collapsing, which sanctions have been the most impactful, and the one thing that could potentially trigger a crash and give Ukraine leverage to negotiate an acceptable peace deal 00:00 Introduction 01:03 What shape is the Russian economy in today? 04:28 What's happening with the Ruble? 08:26 Impact of Sanctions on the Russian Economy 11:14 Alternative History: What if all the sanctions had been introduced in the spring of 2022? 15:03 Trade surplus effect on local currency bilateral trade 19:00 Sanctions effect on remaining Western businesses in Russia 24:03 Effect of budget deficits on reserves 27:59 The one thing that could crash the Russian economy 28:56 Trump's possible negotiation leverage over Putin 33:42 The Gazprom Crisis 46:21 How bad is the Russian inflation? 52:42 Inflation impact on domestic industry 57:01 How can Putin retaliate for the possible seizure of Russian $300b frozen Central Bank Assets?