And that isn’t even Russia’s worst problem. The real reckoning comes later, when half-finished megaprojects will need costly redevelopment—precisely at the moment when the global economy has sunk even deeper into the abyss. Falling demand, tighter money, and investment boards no longer dazzled by fairy-tale returns will turn every grand project into a millstone.
Russia’s shine won’t just be dented; it will be pulverized. And not merely because of the war, or the grotesqueries of its domestic politics, or even the corruption that leaks from every pore. The fatal wound lies elsewhere: everyone can now see how Russian promises dissolve on contact with daylight, crumbling like a vampire caught in the noon sun.
And once trust dies, there is no resurrection.