The Bruegel Institute in Brussels publishes an useful and detailed analysis of the systemic nature of the economic crisis in Russia. It shows beyond much doubt that the economic slide began long before the Russian aggression in Crimea and Ukraine, as has been often but mistakenly assumed. The study traces the beginning of the crisis to Putin’s re-nationalization of the economy ushered in by the Kremlin imprisonment of Khodorkovsky and the illegal confiscation of Yukos’ assets.