Analysis The Russian stock market has plummeted in recent days, anticipating Russian president Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic recognition of Ukrainian separatist regions and the announced deployment of Russian troops. Stocks had fallen by 10.5 percent on the MOEX Russia Index on Monday, prior to the market closing and before the subsequent escalations of the conflict. However, this was only the latest in a long slide, which has seen the Russian stock market fall by over 25 percent since its all-time high last October. While it is impossible to establish absolute causality, this overall decline coincides with two economic trends of the period: a global phase of economic stagnation and an increasing Russian military aggression along the Ukrainian border, which took a major turn toward active conflict on Monday. Russia is not alone in suffering economic tribulations in recent months, as the global economy has experienced a period of stunted growth since last …