What “many” and “other” economists missed, of course, is the primary role energy plays in determining the fate of an economy and the fundamental nature of how energy markets function. Economies awash in cheap hydrocarbons that are also running fiscal deficits rarely enter into recession. This is especially true for a large energy exporter like Russia that can benefit from elevated global prices while keeping input costs artificially low on the home front. Sanctions effectively allowed Putin to double-dip, harvesting excess profits from his country’s exports while padding the global competitiveness of Russia’s manufacturing base.