Since Vladimir Putin came to power at the turn of the millennium, Russia has exported crude oil and petroleum products worth almost $3.5trn, according to data from the Central Bank of Russia. Its natural gas exports over the same period were worth $938bn. Last year, oil and gas revenues contributed nine trillion roubles ($123bn) to the Russian federal budget, leading to a budget surplus for the year. Most of this money came from oil, and most of that oil was sold to the EU.
Russia’s most valuable commodity is its oil. It has underwritten Putin’s regime from the beginning, drives his economic policy and provides a source of revenue that the world may not be able to cut off. Russia’s fortunes are so closely tied to the price of oil that it creates a perverse incentive: Putin’s regime profits from chaos.
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