> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://johnwlittle.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Putin Steers Russia Into The Abyss - URL: https://johnwlittle.com/putin-steers-the-russian-economy-into-the-abyss/ - Published: 2022-02-27T09:41:12.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-21T17:53:06.000Z - Description: The alliance is rising to the occasion while Putin's offensive falters and looks to cost him more than he likely expected. The stakes are astronomically high and Putin will have to double down on a path that leads to destruction or pull back and face a humiliating defeat. He has no good options. - Author: John Little - Tags: Russia-Ukraine, Russia, Ukraine, NATO, Vladimir Putin The first round of sanctions against Russia was an impressive show of allied unity, even if the measures were less devastating than many had hoped. Just a day ago, Germany and others were still showing signs of hesitation. I argued then, and still believe now, that unity matters more at this stage than the strength of any individual sanction. An alliance that holds together can increase the pressure. One that fractures cannot. That makes the sudden move toward much more severe measures so significant. The magnitude of the Russian threat has finally hit home. This response goes beyond sympathy for Ukraine. It reflects a recognition that Putin presents an immediate and credible threat to the international order. Every allied nation has something at stake, and they are beginning to act like it. Germany offers the clearest example. Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that his government would deliver 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles to Ukraine, breaking with its longstanding resistance to supplying lethal weapons to conflict zones. He followed that with plans for €100 billion in defense funding and a commitment to spend more than 2 percent of Germany’s GDP on defense. These are extraordinary changes in a matter of days. Nord Stream 2, weapons deliveries to Ukraine, and restrictions on Russia’s access to the international financial system had all exposed divisions or hesitation in Berlin. Putin’s invasion has forced a fundamental reassessment of German security policy. Other countries are making consequential changes of their own. Greece is sending military aid to Ukraine through Poland, a significant departure for a country with longstanding ties to Russia. Across an alliance of dozens of nations with competing interests and different levels of exposure, we are seeing real leadership and a willingness to accept costs. The speed and breadth of that response are surprising. The escalation in financial sanctions is just as significant. The European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States have announced measures to remove selected Russian banks from SWIFT, restrict the Russian central bank’s ability to use its reserves, and increase pressure on the assets of Russian oligarchs. Much of the attention has focused on SWIFT. Cutting banks off from the financial messaging system will complicate international transactions and disrupt Russia’s commercial relationships. But the measures targeting the central bank may prove even more damaging. Russia’s reserves were supposed to provide protection against outside pressure. Restricting access to those assets undermines that protection precisely when the banking system and wider economy are coming under extraordinary strain. The combined effect matters: sanctions on major banks, restrictions on central-bank reserves, and reduced access to international markets impose several shocks at once. Reports of bank runs already suggest that Russians understand the danger. The consequences will extend well beyond the Kremlin and the wealthy people around it. Businesses face failure, industry faces disruption, and ordinary citizens who had no part in choosing this war will suffer. Over time, that economic damage will also weaken Russia’s military and its ability to project power. A government struggling to sustain its industrial base or move money freely will find it harder to maintain its armed forces, purchase influence abroad, and protect the overseas wealth of the people who support it. Putin has committed Russia to a war whose costs reach far beyond the battlefield. China remains a wildcard. Beijing could offer Russia some shelter, but it is far from clear that its support would be sufficient, or that it would come on terms Moscow could welcome. Even if substantial assistance arrives, the price of that assistance deserves close attention. Russia may have imagined its recent partnership with China as an arrangement between equals capable of reshaping the world. Economic isolation could instead leave Moscow increasingly dependent on Beijing. Putin risks trading the autonomy he claims to defend for a relationship in which China has considerably more leverage. A partnership intended to strengthen Russia could leave it looking more like a client state. None of this means Putin is about to reverse course. He may escalate and treat the damage as an acceptable cost of pursuing his objectives. That is why the allied response must operate on two tracks: helping Ukraine resist the immediate assault without entering a direct military conflict with Russia, while building an alliance capable of sustaining pressure for as long as Putin remains in power. The second task will be harder. It requires governments to sacrifice some immediate self-interest, withstand economic disruption, and confront a ruler backed by an enormous nuclear arsenal. The unity visible this weekend must survive the costs that follow. There are still nonmilitary measures available, and preserving the ability to act together will determine how effectively they can be used. Putin’s offensive is faltering, and the international response is becoming more costly than he likely anticipated. He faces a choice between doubling down on a destructive course and pulling back in humiliation. Neither offers an easy way out. The remaining uncertainty is how the people around him will respond. Putin may be willing to accept the destruction of Russian wealth and power. The leaders of Russian industry, the intelligence services, and the military may have different views about how much they are prepared to lose. Putin is ruthless and knows how to hold onto power. But he is now forcing every other ruthless man in Russia to calculate the cost of keeping him there.