Eurasia Outlook asked several experts what, if anything, can be done by Russian policymakers in order to weather the perfect storm descending on the country’s economy.

In reduced economic circumstances the big test for Russia is whether it will be forced to retrench, or whether Vladimir Putin will take his chances on expansionist foreign policy at a moment when there’s less money to go around to combat legitimate threats.

The financial troubles of the ruble represent the most striking and dangerous strategic challenge facing the Russian state since the conflict in Ukraine began.

The Ukrainian government retains the prerogative to exclude violators of public trust from further government service while new political and economic institutions are built. It remains to be seen how lustration and anti-corruption laws will be implemented.

A new strategic approach is needed to end the dispute over the South Kuril Islands that plagues Russia-Japan relations. Solving the issue is in the interest of both countries.

Recent bureaucratic appointments by Vladimir Putin and the installation of longtime Putin ally Igor Sechin as Rosneft’s chief executive offer the international community a glimpse of some of Putin’s chief economic and foreign policy objectives.

Vladimir Putin cannot survive a sustained, nonviolent protest movement unless he creates a regime change by changing himself and addressing corporate influence on politics.