Might the Ruble take at least some of the place of the dollar in the world? The other day in “The Russia-Saudi Arabia Price War On Oil Explained” here in Medium Dabhinav Dholepat made the case that the dispute was a contest for ‘first among equals’ in OPEC+ and why Mr. Putin might win it. If he did, might making the ruble the designated currency for transactions in oil coming from OPEC+ be something he would do? I could see him doing it, if he could, for Russian ‘prestige’, if nothing else.

The Saudis have controlled OPEC (to the extent anyone has) without global geopolitical ambitions. That is not the case with our favorite KGB Colonel. It is not hard to picture him effecting actual control of OPEC+ (by whatever means necessary) so he could unsheathe oil as a global geopolitical weapon.