Analyst Robert Rapper, in an article for the US site Oil Price, noted that “revenues from oil and gas exports from Russia have risen again, despite sanctions imposed by the West in an attempt to hurt the Russian economy.”

According to the website, Russian oil and gas revenues reached another record in April: 1.8 trillion rubles in April instead of 1.2 trillion in March. Four months later, the federal budget received half of the planned revenues from oil and gas supplies in 2022 (9.5 trillion rubles).

The analyst explained that earlier in February he had warned that restrictive measures taken by the West could be in Moscow’s interests, warning that if sanctions were imposed on Russia, it could reduce the supply of oil in a narrow world market. And if Russia can still sell all its oil to countries that refuse to abide by sanctions, it could do well financially with higher oil prices.