> We constantly hear the Russian economy is in shambles, but at the same time the whole planet seems flush with shady Russian cash. There are 144.5 million Rus

> We constantly hear the Russian economy is in shambles, but at the same time the whole planet seems flush with shady Russian cash. There are 144.5 million Russians. Even if individually they are poor the country can be very rich. Also is the matter of illegal arms sales and break of international embargos. You can sell your gas or weapons to countries that you have signed treaties not to. That is a lot of money that is not part of your legal economy but can surface anywhere in the world. High wealth inequality also makes this a more acute problem. A few people have a lot of money to spend in lobbying and luxury while most of the population lives in relative poverty.