Politicians in the West often do not understand market economics, so it is understandable that a former KGB spy uses fiat instead of making a business deal. Policymaker Disconnect Politicians in the West often do not understand market economics, so it is understandable that a former KGB spy uses fiat instead of making a business deal. At this juncture: Russia's Central Bank has spent $10 billion trying to prop up a falling ruble. Western banks are backing off on lending money (Russia's foreign debt grew by $200 billion during the past two years to $732 billion). Western credit card companies have stopped clearing transactions. Russia's credit rating has been dropped to negative–raising its borrowing costs. The once sluggish economy...

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