In practical terms, Obama’s ban on drilling in the Arctic will help Putin a lot more than Trump’s impending removal of sanctions and the appointment of pro-Russian Tillerson. Russian economy isn’t tanking because of the sanctions. Sanctions are nothing. It’s tanking because of the drop in oil prices.
However, practical terms are a lot less important than emotional and psychological factors. People are impacted not by what is but by what they think is. The realization of “We bent Americans to our will” that Trump provides and that the removal of sanctions will cement will help Russians not even notice what’s happening in their economy.
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