How can Russia, a country scarcely any richer than Australia and far less legitimate, get away with what it’s doing?Look at this chart of GDP in Russia and Australia. They are essentially on par with us — perhaps more when oil revenues are high, less at other times. Russia is not a big force in the global economy. Like us, it has few global brands that matter. Like us, it exports some raw materials. The way it is unlike us is you don’t see us destabilising the global economy by launching cruise missiles at our neighbours.

Source: Russia: a run of the mill nation with a nuclear ace up its sleeve