Where did I say CIA plot? That is a strawman you have erected. The Russian economy was helped substantially over the past decade by rising oil prices, this economic improvement formed the cornerstone of the current Russian administration. When oil prices were slashed, the Rubble fell by half. Suddenly now there are problems at home, and Russian military expansion has been curtailed. Nation states are perfectly capable of grasping the economic importance of certain <i></i>key<i></i> resouces for the modern economies and know where to turn the screws to encourage behavior without jumping straight to war all the time. The Saudis did not voluntarily give up billions of revenue, they calculated that the opportunity cost of pissing off America, which has significantly helped keep the royal family in power for decades, would be too high. Not every decision is a straight up comparision of projected revenue numbers, <i>sometimes</i> large and powerful entities take into account expected value as well.