Protection from IP theft forces Russia to strengthen alliances with China.

A strategy combining both a public-sector approach through a nation’s bilateral economic relations with Russia and a private-sector approach with companies’ litigation in Russian courts could prolong Russia’s status as a “pariah economy.” 181 Rather than succumb to pressure from unfriendly countries and their entities, Moscow could accelerate its withdrawal from the global economy in favor of strengthening its ties with major players such as China and India.182 As hundreds of Western businesses left Russia, Chinese and Indian firms eagerly replaced them and their services in the Russian market.183 Meanwhile, Russian exports of commodities such as oil and minerals to China and India kept the Russian economy afloat in the face of crushing sanctions.184 If such trends continue, the Putin regime would not recognize an incentive in seeking a bilateral understanding with Western nations and resolving grievances put forward by Western businesses.185 Russia has even sought to expand its economic reach to new markets in Latin America and Africa, and has found officials at minimal willing to lend an ear to prospective trade.186

Even as the quality of goods deteriorates and domestic production levels stagnate, the Kremlin believes that the Russian consumer can bear the steep economic cost.187 In effect, the Kremlin is buying its own propaganda as it did during the early 1980s, when leaders ignored signs that the Soviet economy was faltering, weakened by its internal failings and pressure from U.S. export controls of high-technology products.188 Rather than focus on the Russian economy’s structural deficiencies, Putin and his inner circle believe it is the West’s own failings that will eventually allow them to prevail.189 They steadfastly believe that democracies are inherently feeble because they can succumb to public opinion pressure that festers in times of economic crisis.190 Therefore, instead of favoring an understanding with Western nations by assuaging their economic concerns, including protecting IP rights, Putin and his inner circle’s reasoning could outlast the West in a prolonged waiting game.191 For Western entities seeing to enforce their IP rights and hoping to maintain a semblance of a presence within Russia, dealing with a political-military leadership influenced by such a hostile outlook towards the West may not be worth expounding the time or effort of maintaining a commercial presence in Russia.192