| | After being kicked out of the SWIFT payment network and the petrodollar system in which global crude oil contracts are valued in dollars, Putin announced all gas contracts with “unfriendly” countries must pay for Russian gas in rubles. Since all the large Russian banks are sanctioned, buyers in "unfriendly" countries must find smaller Russian banks to work with, meaning they won’t get the best rates, and there will be other transaction costs and inconveniences. ''[[Bloomberg News]]'', ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' and many thinktanks said for decades that Russia's biggest problem was eighty to a hundred billion dollars a year leaking out of the country as the rich took their profits to [[London]], [[Cyprus]], or [[Switzerland]]. Sanctions ended those capital outflows, and recapitalized Russia’s banking system. All the new demand for Russian currency is expected to lift the ruble above where it was when sanctions hit, literally making Russia profit from sanctions. | | After being kicked out of the SWIFT payment network and the petrodollar system in which global crude oil contracts are valued in dollars, Putin announced all gas contracts with “unfriendly” countries must pay for Russian gas in rubles. Since all the large Russian banks are sanctioned, buyers in "unfriendly" countries must find smaller Russian banks to work with, meaning they won’t get the best rates, and there will be other transaction costs and inconveniences. ''[[Bloomberg News]]'', ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' and many thinktanks said for decades that Russia's biggest problem was eighty to a hundred billion dollars a year leaking out of the country as the rich took their profits to [[London]], [[Cyprus]], or [[Switzerland]]. Sanctions ended those capital outflows, and recapitalized Russia’s banking system. All the new demand for Russian currency is expected to lift the ruble above where it was when sanctions hit, literally making Russia profit from sanctions. |
| | By mid May 2022 seventeen countries in Europe, including Germany and Italy, agreed to open accounts with [[Gazprom]]bank, as Russia advised them to do and to pay for oil and gas in rubles. | | By mid May 2022 seventeen countries in Europe, including Germany and Italy, agreed to open accounts with [[Gazprom]]bank, as Russia advised them to do and to pay for oil and gas in rubles. |