However, Russia is something of a paper tiger economically. Having dangerously put all its eggs in one basket, the nation is overly reliant on fossil fuel exports, which are now being hit hard by sanctions and the transition to cleaner energies. Corruption is off the scale, as is income inequality, with the top 1% thought to control 71% of the nation's wealth.

Around 10 million Russians live in poverty, the equivalent of 7% of the population. Even prior to COVID-19 and the invasion of Ukraine, half of all working Russians were earning less than $550 a month.

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