[www.heritage.org]
...Russia’s economic prosperity under Vladimir Putin helped Russia reemerge as a major player on the world stage. Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased from approximately $250 billion after the 1998 crisis to $1.8 trillion 10 years later, before the world financial crisis. Increased oil and natural gas exports—Russia has the seventh largest oil reserves and the largest gas reserves in the world and is the leading exporter of oil and gas—coupled with the higher prices for other Russian commodity exports, have largely driven this economic comeback. Russia uses the revenue from energy exports combined with revenue from arms sales, metals exports, and foreign investments, including in the mining and energy sectors, to extend Russian influence worldwide.[4]...