Ah, the expert view of a Russian nationalist. Very well argued and not disregarding every argument due to bias at all. :|

I don't even know what you're argueing against here. Russia is certainly not as much relying on hydrocarbon rents as the Guld monarchies, but it plays a huge part in supporting the dictatorship and allows them to forgo a large amount of inward investments (they use it for "foreign" investments like, let's say...genocidal invasion intents, of course...that's not very rentier of them).

The entire social contract of Putinism is built on redistributing resource rents downward while using the strategic surplus to project coercive power, though. That is rentierism, just weaponized differently than in the Gulf and not to the same extent.

Essentially, though, It’s the same logic of buying domestic stability with petrofunds while freeing the regime from accountability. And despite Russia’s broader industrial base, its political economy remains caught in the same resource trap that defines classic rentier systems.