Just how much is Vladimir Putin's Ukrainian adventure actually costing Russia? Quite a lot, it turns out.
New statistics from the Central Bank of Russia indicate that almost $51 billion in capital exited the country in the first quarter of 2014. The exodus, says financial website Quartz.com, is largely the result of investor jitters over Russia's intervention in Ukraine and subsequent annexation of Crimea.
The Real Costs of Crimea;
Rasmussen: Russian imperialism a threat to Europe
We run the risk of missing critical aspects of Russian policy if we assume that Moscow's continuing invasions of Ukraine are exclusively about Russo-Ukrainian issues. One of the founding fathers of Soviet studies, Adam Ulam, observed back in 1965 that empire was the biggest obstacle to reform in Russian history.
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The controversy over Aboutalebi;
Iran fights the demographic future;
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U.S. NMD: Funding, but little strategic direction;
A hemispheric cruise missile threat;
Russian adventurism changes Europe's defense calculus;
Pentagon attempts to assure Asian allies