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Vladimir Putin hoped to double the size of the stock market. He has comprehensively failed, and there’s no obvious fix to be found. Russia’s stock market is stuck in one of its worst stretches in decades. The MOEX index has now fallen for 17 straight weeks — the longest unbroken decline since 1997 — and is back down near the lows it hit on the day Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Four and a half years of war have brought the market full circle: a catastrophic crash, a

Putin’s propagandists are battling to bridge the gap between a supposedly victorious war against Ukraine and worsening fuel shortages. Vladimir Putin doesn’t like acknowledging the problems his policies create, especially those resulting from his war of aggression against Ukraine. So it was notable when he grudgingly admitted the success of Ukraine’s aerial barrage on July 8. “It’s completely obvious that the enemy is trying to damage the economy,” he said. “But the main thin