Re:Full consensus for disconnecting Russia from SWIFT achiev...
by op00to on Monday February 28, 2022 @06:28AM
(#30498734)
It’s really hard to pay in rubles internationally right now as a Russian. Like, your bank won’t let you.
In addition to the fact that Russia’s biggest import is heavy machinery which makes it very difficult for them to actually access said raw materials, Russia must import many raw materials required for modern industry. Aluminum Oxide, plastics, and chemical feedstock are major imports for Russia that they no longer have access to. To say that Russia has raw materials essentially ignores anything that isn’t energy.
The people who want rubles are those who have to pay taxes in rubles, which Putin imposes on the promise of a trip to the gulag if you don't pay them.
Just because something is generally priced in dollars, doesn't mean that it is paid for in dollars. Contracts to supply anything can be in any denomination.
In all international transactions people pay in the currency they have and receive the currency they require. Everything else is just protocol layers.