OTHER THAN THAT, HOW ARE YOU ENJOYING nATIONALISM?:

Russia has banned its citizens from buying US dollars, completing the isolation of an economy that once had ambitions to join the global club of financial powers.

As recently as the 2008 global financial crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his lieutenants had promoted the ruble as a potential alternative to the US dollar, arguing that it should be an integral part of the global financial system. Russia would become one of the world's five biggest economies, they claimed.

Putin's quest to dominate his neighbors, starting with his assault on Georgia in 2008, and continuing with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and last month's invasion of Ukraine, has shredded what remained of the authoritarian leader's economic dreams.

In early 2008, one US dollar would buy roughly 25 rubles. The Russian currency has depreciated significantly since then, and Western sanctions imposed in response to the invasion of Ukraine have pushed it into freefall. On Wednesday, one US dollar could buy 117 rubles in Moscow after the currency fell 10% and hit a new record low. The ruble has been even weaker in the offshore market this week.

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