Russia as a gas station In 2014, John McCain memorably stated that Russia is a gas station masquerading as a country. This claim holds true even more today than when McCain said it eight years ago. In 2021, $1.18 Trillion of Moscow’s total $2.37 Trillion government revenue was collected from oil and gas. This accounts for almost exactly half of the government revenues in 2021. By comparison, in 2020 (the most recent year available), “the oil kingdom” of Saudi Arabia received 53% of its government revenues from oil and gas.…
