Oil and Protests: Putin's Double Trouble
A drop in crude prices could imperil the Russian president’s plans
This article is for subscribers only.
Hours after his release on May 24 from 15 days in jail, opposition leader Alexei Navalny was mobbed as he toured a Moscow protest camp that for days had resisted police attempts to clear it away. “You can’t frighten us with iron beds and prison porridge. If necessary, I’ll go back to prison 22 times,” said Navalny. “Thousands of people like me are ready to defend their rights.”
While only small numbers of President Vladimir Putin’s opponents are camping on Moscow’s Old Arbat street, a Greek exit from the euro could push Russia into recession and provoke more unrest. In 2009 the economy shrank almost 8 percent after oil prices dropped to $34 a barrel from $147 as the Lehman bankruptcy sparked a global downturn.