ballpoint

Finally, the answer to the question...

I think he over did it with that last piece.

This is a good explanation of what's happening, and what it will lead to. Not only is Russia losing hundreds of thousands of young men to the fighting, production for the war machine is using up a huge chunk of the working population, meaning large shortages to do the normal, everyday work, meaning pay must go up to attract workers - by 8% last year and a further 9% this year, meaning prices must go up to counter that, meaning an inflation spiral that's rapidly getting out of control. And, as we know, they've announced that they will be spending a third of their budget on the military, but they're already spending an estimated 6% of it on compensation to families of those injured or killed in the fighting. Couple that to the plunging rouble, falling exports and economic sanctions, and something will give sooner rather than later.