Russia’s main problems remain economic. There are some very real fears that the situation could get out of control. A surge of bad loans is expected yet Putin has asked that the banks boost lending by up to $16bn. This is a story that will unfold in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Russia is preparing for the time when the global economy has recovered and its natural resources become the necessary basis for the next global boom.

Three stories in the last two days give us a flavour of Russian priorities: to attract Western investment  on Russian terms to develop its resources; to exert as much oligopolistic control of the supply of gas into Europe as possible; and to get the Europeans to underwrite that supply with hard cash.

The Russians are now welcoming back Western oil majors – first Total, with which it signed a gas exploration deal, and now Royal Dutch Shell, which has been told by Putin himself that it can participate in new offshore oil and gas projects.

Shell has also been told that it can help Russia build LNG tankers to help globalise its gas trade. Old conflicts between Shell and Gazprom have been laid to one side and Shell has been encouraged to believe that it is needed to explore the remote deep water Sakhalin 3 and 4 blocks in Russia’s Far East.

The attempt to manage European demand for gas has many facets - the creation of a quasi-cartel of producers, moves into Nigeria, a relationship with Italy and Libya, Russia's 'great game' in the Caucasus, the cat-and-mouse over the Ukraine and resource agreements with the Chinese.

The latest move is small - a deal with Baku to import relatively small volumes of gas from Azerbaijan that the Europeans also would like to have had.

The Azeris will not allow Gazprom to take large volumes because of the implication that the country could fall under excessive Russian influence but this story tells us that the Russians want to be seen as alternate customers to Europe in every relevant market that they can find.

And then there is finding a way to help the Ukraine pay for Russian gas supplies for collection and eventual onward transmission to Europe in a tough winter. The talks are intense and involve the IMF and World Bank but serious funds are only possible if the Ukraine commits to reforming its gas sector.

If Russia does not implode from its own 'internal contradictions' as a massive under-populated empire and the State can retain control of its assets, measures being put in place now could ensure that it can dictate equality with the West in Eurasia - but it remains a complex gamble on events.

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