[fsloth]

But it's not an idiotic simplification. Money, diplomatic relationships or international reputation are objectively irrelevant (if one wants predicatble outcomes) when dealing with the lords of Kremlin.

For example, observe the effects of economical sanctions on Russias de-facto war with Ukraine (none).

I'm not saying other large powers would be any better. The difference is, for example with US you can follow a little bit better as an outsider what is going on with their policies while Russias actions are far harder to predict.