By Will Englund

With the price of oil climbing to more than $100 a barrel, Russia has a little more weight to throw around on the world stage, and it is doing just that.

The stepped-up flow of petrodollars into the government’s coffers relieves what had been a worrisome budget deficit and lessens the urgency of reform. Good relations with the West — and especially the “reset” with Washington — are not quite so pressing when the economy here is in good shape.

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