Russian wheat exports are booming despite a crushing price slump, as the country’s farmers finally emerge from decades of neglect. They’re positioned to extend their gains at the expense of American outfits, who are threatened by tariffs.
A military alliance between Russia and Iran to back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is giving way to an economic rivalry as Syria’s civil war winds down, a contest that Moscow is leading.
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3750928
http://www.ng.ru/economics/2018-09-23/1_4_7316_money.html