[gocard14]

The head of Wagner Forces publishing pictures of many dead Wagnerites and blaming Putin for failing to provide ammunition.  Sounds to me that the head of the Wagner forces should be careful where he sleeps.

That's a pretty strong step for Prigozhin to take. Seems suicidal to me -- he's not out of Putin's reach. Unless he thinks Putin will be imminently deposed.

I presume the West has at least some idea of how the sanctions are affecting Russia, but there sure seems to be lots of people with opposing opinions on the subject.
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-economy-...gh-1782655

From the article: "After GDP shrunk by 2.2 percent in 2022—much less than the 10-15 percent annual drop some had predicted early in the war—economists believe that instead of growth, Russia faces a decline in 2023."  I can't believe that after all the sanctions and the loss of a significant number of their educated work force, their GDP reduction was just 2.2%.  Seems inaccurate to me.

Nothing boosts GDP like war (especially one in which your production capacity is not directly targeted). The fact that GDP fell 2.2% while government spending is up over 50% indicates that war spending is propping up the economy. Of course that spending is supported by debt, both foreign and domestic, and likely at high interest rates, as well as money printing which keeps the nominal GDP up while reducing PPP GDP.

[gocard14]

The head of Wagner Forces publishing pictures of many dead Wagnerites and blaming Putin for failing to provide ammunition.  Sounds to me that the head of the Wagner forces should be careful where he sleeps.

That's a pretty strong step for Prigozhin to take. Seems suicidal to me -- he's not out of Putin's reach. Unless he thinks Putin will be imminently deposed.

I presume the West has at least some idea of how the sanctions are affecting Russia, but there sure seems to be lots of people with opposing opinions on the subject.
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-economy-...gh-1782655

From the article: "After GDP shrunk by 2.2 percent in 2022—much less than the 10-15 percent annual drop some had predicted early in the war—economists believe that instead of growth, Russia faces a decline in 2023."  I can't believe that after all the sanctions and the loss of a significant number of their educated work force, their GDP reduction was just 2.2%.  Seems inaccurate to me.

Nothing boosts GDP like war (especially one in which your production capacity is not directly targeted). The fact that GDP fell 2.2% while government spending is up over 50% indicates that war spending is propping up the economy. Of course that spending is supported by debt, both foreign and domestic, and likely at high interest rates, as well as money printing which keeps the nominal GDP up while reducing PPP GDP.