Conversations That Matter

Ep 410 - Is Russia Collapsing? Guest: Diane Francis   The EU just announced its seventh sanctions package, which is set to put an embargo on Russian gold. Gold is Russia’s largest non-energy export. The Russian government’s response was to shrug it off and downplay the impact of sanctions – a position the Union of Gold Producers in Russia disagrees with, noting that “the country’s gold industry may suffer irreparable damage.”   Author, National Post Editor-at-Large, and Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council Diane Francis says, “Russia is in trouble economically, demographically, financially and militarily.” Francis goes on to say, “Punitive Western sanctions, as well as brain and capital drains, are shredding the country’s future.”   In an article titled “To Russia With Malice,” Francis states, “Sanctions against the import of technology such as microchips have caused factories to stop making many consumer products, as well as weapons of war. Automobile production is down by 96.7 percent [and] Aeroflot is usi