Russia: Putin vows to protect Russia's economy
The crisis goes straight to Putin's Achilles' heel, raising the long-muttered question of whether it was keen policy or simply record-breaking oil prices that allowed him to preside over a period of growth and prosperity. Full Story »
Posted by Peter L. Combs
Putin had made clear Russia would not tolerate a Georgian military solution to the secessist problem in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The high commodity prices obtaining last summer helped encourage a vigorous Russian response to the Georgian attack on South Ossetia, but the reponse would have come anyway.