I always thought that the people who worked at the KGB were supposed to be smart. But the ageing Russian leader has shown that just because someone who is powerful does not necessarily mean that they have brains, too. Putin’s insane decision to invade Ukraine will condemn him, if not the entire country, to pariah state for a long time to come. The condemnation has already started. The ruble has plunged to a record low against the US dollar. If it falls any further, it should be renamed the rubble. Laughably, the Russian central bank has doubled interest rates to 20%, as if it would somehow stem the fall. The demise of the ruble is quite extraordinary for a country that is one of the world’s leading producers of oil and gas. It is also a top exporter of metals such as steel and aluminium. But all that matters little because of Putin’s reprehensible action to invade a neighbouring country....