Putin Paints a Besieged Russia, Says U.S. Wants to ‘Rip Out Its Teeth and Claws’

Vladimir Putin is digging in.

Blaming the U.S. and Europe for an economic crisis gripping his country of 144 million and warning the slump could drag on for two years,Putin today signaled a sustained standoff over Ukraine.

“He believes that the economy is capable of withstanding the shock,” said Alexei Makarkin, deputy director of the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies. “Putin’s psychology is very simple. From his point of view Russia has made concessions for years and to no effect.”

Putin held his annual press conference, speaking to hundreds of reporters for more than three hours. The event took on heightened importance as a 40-percent plunge in the ruble evoked memories of the country’s 1998 default and talk of hoarding staples.

Any efforts to bolster the economy are constrained by the country’s dependence on oil, its main export, which has dropped to a five-year low. The central bank forecasts gross domestic product may shrink almost 5 percent next year if the price stays at $60 a barrel. The president said today the country must prepare for oil as low as $40. The extent of Russia’s woes was underscored as automakers including General Motors Co. and Audi suspended sales in the country.

The economic crunch has been worsened by sanctions imposed by the U.S. and Europe in response to Putin’s annexation of Crimea and interference in eastern Ukraine.

“They will always try to chain it,” Putin said, likening Russia to a bear protecting its territory. “As soon as they chain it, they’ll rip out its teeth and claws.”