Russian companies withdraw billions from west, say Moscow bankers

**UPDATE**  The Battlespace is always polygonal.  In the current dance between Washington and Moscow, it is the Kremlin scoring the decisive cuts.

Americans resort to blunt instruments and tired charges of "Mental Instability" for Vlad - before you know it DHS will classify him as a Right-wing gun-nut extremist and religious nut - with an archaic reverence for the US Bill of Rights.  NYT: Vlad is paranoid...

Russia to US: Our nerds are better than your nerds, here.

~~

Kerry, Merckel, et al, have threatened if Vlad doesn't back up in Ukraine and Crimea over the weekend, they'd begin economic (and maybe "more severe - no options off the table") thumping of Russia on Monday.  Is Vlad wetting himself?

Not so much.  He's not even picking up the phone for Kerry.

Seems he's been playing chess while his enemies are playing checkers.

Kerry & Co threaten economic counters - so several weeks ago Vlad and his pals began moving Russian money out of the reach of Western sanctions, all under the radar.  Kerry and his bosses have been chumped once again.  It is obvious that Vlad and his Team knew weeks, or months, ago how everything would unfold.  Otherwise, he'd be caught with his money in Western hands, or he'd have moved his money too soon, tipping his hand.

But read the FT piece, and understand that it is just now that Western politicians are realizing how they were played on the "Economic Sanctions" front.

...and these are the people your neighbors and mine put into office.

Here's the link.

Next week is going to be very interesting, and for the wise, cursory glances toward the skyline will be in order.

Kerodin
III