https://archive.ph/uygcK https://archive.ph/uygcK Edit for the good metaphors. > It has entered what mountaineers call the death zone: the altitude above 8,00

https://archive.ph/uygcK https://archive.ph/uygcK Edit for the good metaphors. > It has entered what mountaineers call the death zone: the altitude above 8,000 metres at which the human body consumes itself faster than it can be repaired. > Over the past four years the Russian economy has bifurcated into two distinct metabolic systems... The body is metabolising its own muscle tissue for energy. > A recession is like fatigue: rest and you recover. Russia’s condition is like altitude sickness: the longer you stay, the worse it gets, regardless of rest. > But Vladimir Putin is not only watching his own oxygen gauge. He is watching the other climbers. Always a fan of the writing style the Economist promotes.