NEWSLINK: Russia in grim go-it-alone mood as sanctions bite

[“Russia in grim go-it-alone mood as sanctions bite” – BBC – Bridget Kendall – BBC – Sochi, October 27, 2014]

BBC News covers Russia’s Valdai Club meeting at Sochi and the impact of Ukraine-related Western sanctions on Russia.

Russia’s efforts to reduce … reliance on trade with the West overshadowed a high-profile meeting between … Putin and foreign correspondents ….
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A series of senior Russian officials … tried hard to argue that Western sanctions – far from being a blow – were really an opportunity.

Yes, they admitted, there had been some pain, especially in Russia’s financial sector (foreign currency loans which are increasingly hard to service, billions lost in capital flight, plunging rates for the rouble), and especially with a budget squeezed by almost zero growth and falling oil prices.

One Russian response to sanctions seems to be to turn inward economically. Russia also seems to be hearkening back to aspects of its Soviet past, becoming more of a closed society.

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