To play devil's (or should I say Putin's :P ) advocate for a second, there are non-quantifiable properties of life beyond money. Russians treat their culture as

To play devil's (or should I say Putin's :P ) advocate for a second, there are non-quantifiable properties of life beyond money. Russians treat their culture as sacred and would give (and have given) up a great deal to preserve it. Its still kind of hard to wrap my mind around it. The communist fought tooth and nail to try to rid the different soviet states of it, but it persevered. There is an unquantifiable property that Russia holds dear. It can take the blows and as long as people have jobs and are fed, most are content with the life they have and unless the money comes from a Russian source (natural resources or something else), they fear that it will destroy their culture.