You are quite right that Russia benefited immensely from the 2008 surge in oil and gas prices .However, it is not quite accurate that Russia did not diversify out of the "resource trap". In reality the oil and gas sector makes up a relatively small percentage of Russia's overall economic activity. Where Russia is really dependent on oil and gas is in the export market; petrochemicals make up something like 60% of its exports.

The Russian government has also been quite sensible about its fiscal policy, with the result that its "fiscal breakeven point" for oil prices has declined from roughly $115/barrel, which is roughly where it was ten years ago, to only about $42 for its Urals oil exports.

I also disagree that they have failed to keep their best people in Russia. The Russians that I have met and worked with have mostly been very smart, hardworking, and motivated (with a few exceptions here and there). Various banks and tech companies have setup shop in Russia because of the quality of the Russian computer science and mathematics education programs, and Yandex has proven that it can take on and beat Google in the Russian and FSU markets quite handily. Russians don't have great passports, so they cannot simply leave Russia for the USA or Europe without jumping through a lot of red tape.

The Russians who do want to leave, generally do so because they don't much like the policies of the current government. And I can understand why. They don't see much of a future because the pension age keeps rising and the cost of living stays high, while wages don't really go anywhere and misguided Western sanctions hurt their economy for no particularly good reason.

I hear that refrain from many of their women, in particular. The men still die young and drink themselves to death, but some of the women in Moscow and St. Petersburg don't much care for the habits of their men.

But the economic stats in the image misrepresent the situation. Note that Russia was a huge beneficiary of the high-oil-price years (2006-14). From 2015 onwards, the low oil price has caused a major recession there. Russia has failed to sufficiently diversify out of oil, and has failed to keep its best people there.

That feeling when you watch one of the richest, most influential, most powerful men in the world get completely owned by someone shorter and older and yet far more terrifying…

Heh