Vladimir Putin has just thrown Russia into China’s trap while triggering a dangerous cash crisis across Russian banks. His proposed $50 billion Power of Siberia 2 pipeline now threatens to bury Gazprom in more debt while draining the financial system funding his war economy. Beijing is demanding an 80% discount, cutting Moscow’s expected annual gas revenue from about $12.5 billion to only $2.5 billion while leaving Russia responsible for a project costing more than twice Gazprom’s current market value. Gazprom has already lost 88% of its former European sales, carries more than $73 billion in debt, and has no alternative customer capable of replacing Europe. Russians withdrew $6.5 billion from bank accounts during the first 16 days of July as non-performing loans climbed above 11% and one in six small businesses fell behind on payments. The Bank of Russia is pumping emergency cash into l
