It is no surprise that the Russian state is digging deep into its coffers to bail out debt-laden banks and businesses.

In principle, the rescue is similar to those in the US and European Union. Only with $560bn in reserves, Moscow is in a better financial position than western states, as Russian officials are happy to point out. In fact, Russia’s $180bn-plus intervention in liquidity and capital injections is proportionately even bigger than the $700bn US package, as the US economy is seven times larger than Russia’s.