Why is Putin so angry? Dropping oil prices and biting sanctions put the Russian economy on the brink of collapse

The economic downfall, which has recently gripped Russia, is showing no signs of abating; a new warning from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has revealed that the ongoing drop in oil prices could prove unbearable for the ailing country.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The OECD's chief economist, Catherine Mann, reported that while Russia continues its path of isolation and desperate economic exile from the rest of the world-caused by western sanctions over the country's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine earlier this year-disaster continues to loom, and a frightening vision of Vladimir Putin's new Russia begins to take shape.

Help provide kids with the quality learning tools they need.

"It's very difficult to tell what will get Russia back on track," she said during an interview with "The Sunday Telegraph".

"The end game is autarky, and for an economy to return to being disconnected from the global economy, to be farming its own land for food, for the energy to be only used within its own economy, to not import clothing and machinery-this requires painful restructuring."

Putin has admitted that sanctions from the west will cause his country two years of pain economically, though he has said that he sees a self sufficient and powerful Russia in the future.

But Mann says that is is nearly impossible to see Russia emerge from such an economic slump while it continues to meddle in Ukraine.

"A better strategy would be the geo-political one, and there is a sense that president Putin would rather move in that direction. But from the perspective of the countries that have imposed sanctions there does not appear to be a loosening of their resolve, so from that standpoint I don't see any changes."

The possibility that oil will drop drastically below $50 per-barrel is also a daunting prospect for Russia, especially if OPEC refuses to cut production and demand remains low.

Low oil prices would provide a major boon for consumers and some businesses in the United States, which does not rely primarily on oil to make money. Russia, on the other hand, requires oil prices to remain high for its economy to function, and its consumers do not have the expandable income to take advantage of cheap oil.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'