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In my opinion, Putin took notes from Iran and began preparing for massive sanctions well before the start of the war.
- Putin didn’t make Russia overly reliant on trade with the West. Russia had been expanding its economic & diplomatic relations with India, China, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Ethiopia, Algeria & Egypt in particular for years. Thus, “isolating Russia” would be impossible
- EU states are still buying Russian gas as most EU states have admitted that completely abandoning Russian gas or oil is completely impossible in a short span of a few months. Hungary in particular has been completely resistant to banning both. And in fact, most EU states are now believed to be buying Russian gas in rubles.
- Russia is importing less, thereby helping its own elite take over businesses that Western corporations left behind, which does wonders for the job market and economic opportunities
- Russia never stored all of its wealth and assets overseas. While it did lose access to billions that the West froze, Russia was also smart and kept billions at home. Russia is thus able to repay its debts. The only way it wouldn’t be able to is if the West intentionally freezes Russian payments. Which would be illegal and a hugely dangerous escalation.
The main point of Russia’s current success against Western sanctions is to never make your economy or trade overly reliant on the West. Other rising states such as India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, & Ethiopia should heed the warning.