The nineteenth-century czar Alexander III once said: “Russia has only two true allies – its army and its navy.” Oil is Putin’s army and navy, allowing him to build and maintain the image of a strong, but also an internationalist, state.
高额的石油价格现在看来是唯一一个使普京继续改革游戏的因素。十九世纪的沙皇亚历山大三世曾说：“俄罗斯只有两个真正的同盟——它的军队和它的海军。”石油就是普京的军队和海军，使他得以树立并维持一个强大的、但同时也是国际性的国家形象。