nATIONALISM DOESN'T WORK:

Wars are expensive. Every day in Ukraine is costing Russia billions by default.  Russia currently has 2400 tons of gold and about $640 billion in foreign reserves. Then there's the rest of Russia to pay for, with a very iffy revenue base.

The Russian revenue base will be maimed by the loss of trade. If oil, gas and wheat aren't bringing in revenue, it's going to get tough. China is an offset to these losses, but only to a point. China can't cover the full impact of lost business with the rest of the world.

Russian export trade with China has surged, but again, that's a finite position. It doesn't, and more importantly, can't compare with global trade. China can't be compelled to do more business with Russia.

Much less impressive is the fact that China can now call the shots with Russia on any subject it wants. It's barely comprehensible why Putin would want to be in this position at all, let alone during a major crisis. The word "expedient" can only be stretched so far before it becomes a liability.

The lethal reality check for Russia here is that this self-hanged position can only have one outcome - Massive long-term ongoing losses in capital and a possibly decades-long drought of financial inputs. That IS a recipe for bankruptcy. It's also a stunningly lousy economic position for Russia in that the economy won't be able to keep up with the rest of the world at all. If and when this situation ends, Russia will be behind every economic eight ball imaginable.

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