One of the fund's main responsibilities is to support the Russian pension system, and since the closure of the Reserve Fund also funds budget deficits.
Russians might not be too happy if their pension gets slashed or stops showing up.
A few years back, Russia tried effectively reducing what the pension paid out via increasing the retirement age.
An intention to hike the national retirement age and the more so a final decision to launch the reform have drastically downed the rating of the president Vladimir Putin and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev in Russia. In July 2018, just 49% would vote for Putin if the presidential elections were held in that moment; during the elections in March, he got 76.7%.[6][7]
If Russia decides to start an armed conflict with Europe/"The West", then this is what will most likely happen.
Xi and his cabinet are only interested in widening "the central kingdom", and unlike Putin, Xi is no fool.
If it happens, Russia is facing economies it cannot oppose and it will lose. At that point, Xi will help Europe in some way, and as Russia loses - and loses hard - certain Eurasian oblasts and republics will be absorbed into China...
..which is good for those republics and oblasts, because Russia dgaf about them. Their only reason to exist is to give Moscow taxes, with no services or infrastructure levied can, something that will also help to motivate these oblasts and republics from Russia.
[...] Located at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers, this island of around 300 square kilometers has long been a subject of dispute between the two countries. In 1929, Russia occupied the island and prohibited China from navigating that part of the Amur River, which Beijing has always contested. In 2004, however, the two countries reached a compromise: The western part of the island went to China, which could also navigate on the Amur River, but in return, Beijing accepted that the eastern part would go to Russia.
[...] Located at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers, this island of around 300 square kilometers has long been a subject of dispute between the two countries. In 1929, Russia occupied the island and prohibited China from navigating that part of the Amur River, which Beijing has always contested. In 2004, however, the two countries reached a compromise: The western part of the island went to China, which could also navigate on the Amur River, but in return, Beijing accepted that the eastern part would go to Russia.
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