The symbiotic relationship between politics and economics benefits society as a whole, and this carefully constructed and mutually beneficial connection can easily sour if one party has a negative impact on the other. To expand on this statement further, it is hardly a revolutionary idea to say that economic theories have changed depending on who has political control, and that individual politicians can usurp power depending on the state of the economy. A further fragmented political state develops when the regional government takes on most of the national economic burden. This association of give and take is exemplified in Russia following Putin's return to power, combined with the Russian financial collapse during the latter part of 2014. Russia's political ideologies under Putin have exacerbated pre-existing financial instabilities within the regional economies, and the sharp decline in oil prices and international economic sanctions imposed on Russia which led to the collapse of the Russian ruble. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As the name Vladimir Putin echoes in every corner of the world, the leader of the world's largest nation is known to be quite a controversial figure. Putin maintains a pseudodemocracy that could be labeled as potentially more dangerous than the pure autocracy suffered by Russians for decades. For centuries Russia has experienced a tumultuous political climate; specifically, “Nearly two decades after the fall of communism, Russia is not a democracy. But neither is it an absolute autocracy on the model of, for example, Cuba or North Korea. That is to say, Russia pretends to be democratic…” (Shevtsova). Pretending to be democratic, however, comes from years of chaos and uncertainty. With the help of Western governments, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Russia underwent the largest and most rapid privatization in history in order to create a fully nationalized Soviet economy. But, seven years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia suffered the financial crisis of 1998 and, at the time, it was regional governments that bore most of Russia's economic burden. Over the course of those seven years, Russia entered a deep depression, so the 1998 financial crisis worsened an already dire situation. Boris Yeltsin weathered Russia's economic problems to the best of his ability, and the economy only truly recovered when demand for oil increased. However, just hours before the first day of 2000, Yeltsin announced his resignation, leaving the government in the hands of Vladimir Putin, a former KGB official and head of the FSB. Putin's actions during his previous and current terms reflect the frighteningly obvious link between the political climate within a country and its economic situation. Putin in his first term rebuilt an impoverished Russia with the help of Russian oligarchs, or wealthy businessmen who were former officials of the Soviet Union. Putin's association with officials from the former Soviet Union surprised no one when he described the collapse of the Soviet Union as "... the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the twentieth century" (BBC). His hopeful ideals about the Soviet Union continue to push Russia into a divided political state and further antagonize existing economic problems. Given its vast size, Russia harvests an abundant amount of natural resources, which it uses for economic purposes. Similar to the 1998 financial crisis, the root of economic strugglesof 2014 revolves around oil prices, the main resource of their economy. Or in other words, “Russia gets about half of its budget revenue from taxes on oil and natural gas, and as long as the price of oil collapses, its economy is likely to continue to sink.” (McLaughlin). The collapse of the ruble in 2014 was not directly linked to oil alone though. The Russian economy has also been deeply affected by an unbalanced pension system, inflation and severe US and European sanctions. Besides oil, the most notable cause of this period of economic instability would be the international sanctions imposed against Russia during the Ukraine crisis. To address the Crimean crisis and the subsequent annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, several governments and international organizations, led by the United States and the European Union, have imposed sanctions on Russian individuals and businesses. On October 3, 2014, Joe Biden even commented: “We don't want Russia to collapse. We want Russia to succeed. But Putin has to make a choice. This asymmetric progress towards another country cannot be tolerated. If they do so, the international system will collapse." (Biden). Russia continues to push the boundaries of the political spectrum, despite already suffering from problems such as inflation. Inflation has a direct link to issues such as unemployment, which in turn influences political policies. Russia's annual inflation for 2014 was 11.4%, the highest inflation level since 2008, and combining this very high percentage with the falling ruble, consumer prices, especially food prices, began to rise to the stars. The various factors that have caused economic instability since 2014, which can still be seen today, have had decisive political effects. In 2012, Putin regained presidential power, but the international community questioned the logistics of his election. Specifically, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe observed blatant fraud, “…including brazen ballot box stuffing.” (Schwirtz). The legality of this election sparked protests in the streets of Russia with people calling for Russia without Putin, but Putin quickly crushed any opposition against him through means of violence, intimidation and coercion. His reassertion of power laid a shaky political foundation, exacerbated by the collapse of the Russian ruble in 2014. For Russia, the main political concern in 2014 occurred when Russia seized Crimea, exponentially influencing East-East tensions. West, and in In the latter part of 2014, the ruble began to devalue. In 2015, Russia launched military support for allied President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, and “oil and gas accounted for 43% of government revenue. The World Bank has predicted that the poverty rate [in Russia] will reach 14.2% in 2016” (Lee). Now, in 2017, the United States has launched an investigation into Russia's role with the Trump administration. The correlation between Russia's economic state and the political climate within this vast state is that both sides need each other to succeed. The declining economic situation, however, has led to a more tense political climate, as the ruble has suffered due to rising US interest rates and economic sanctions. But the ruble fell sharply due to a series of controversial policy decisions by Putin and other Russian leaders. As the national government slowly disintegrates, regional governments across Russia are exploiting their lack of assertiveness. Give his.