> Russia and the rest of the contemporary semi-periphery have no
> similarities to the semi-peripheries of the 1930s. Zero. None. In fact,
> the BRICs are sitting on 3 trillion EUR in cash reserves, a tiny sliver of
> which Russia recently used to buy GM's Opel car division.
Banking on a dying brand in a dying industry, and becoming more dependent on oil and gas to sustain your economy (which when Saudi Arabia is involved is called being "petrostate") even as prices and your production and reserves fall. Remind me again why anyone should be worried about Russia.