Putin is also feeling the pressure a bit this election. He'll win of course, non-token opposition isn't tolerated. But he's having to talk about social programs, because people are getting less thrilled with military success - when the economy is in the crapper. The Syrian adventure wasn't even popular to start with. And Putin had to miss a great opportunity to chest-beat about the US killing a hundred-odd Russian mercenaries last month, because that would mean admitting that the Syrian campaign has been so successful that they still require ground troops (something he said wouldn't be needed).
The problem is that Russian government gets about a third of its budget from taxes on oil and gas revenue. And that's down by a hell of a lot, since the heady days of $140 a barrel. Those were the days when they started increasing their defence budget and ordering all these shiny new weapons. Some apparently very impressive. But can they still afford more than a few of them? As you say, their defence budget is lower than the UK's, although of course wages are much lower so it probably goes a lot further.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
