An altered state of reality...................
seems to be a particularly Russian affliction. While everyone wants Russia's oil, nobody wants the Ruble--including Russians. The street exchange for rubles to dollars is very different than the government set exchange rate. Russia will have to push out a lot of dreck to trading partners for them to collect the rubles needed to buy oil.
Can't see this working out. The old soviet union failed because the underground economy outgrew the official one and provided the dynamic for collapse and now Putin tries the same failed paradigm? Interesting to watch.
Publius