The Washington Post quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Senior Fellow Anders Åslund on the growing economic crisis in Russia:
Putin rose to power in 1999 on a wave of anti-Chechen hysteria, but it was steady economic growth over the next decade fueled by rising oil prices that accounted for his popularity. Now that growth has come to a screeching halt, and the gross domestic product could decline by as much as 8 percent this year, according to economist Anders Åslund.