Laura Mills

Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted the West was trying to destroy Russia, but admitted oil and gas prices were also a factor in its economic crisis.

Since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, armed men have shown up frequently and at odd hours to search the cinder-block houses, mosque and school in this settlement of Crimean Tatars, a Muslim ethnic minority that has long suffered from discrimination in the peninsula that is its historic homeland.

Russia will defend its geopolitical interests, President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday as he promised economic reforms to pull his country back from the brink of recession. But Putin’s patriotic bluster and vague promises did little to assuage real fears that Western sanctions, plummeting oil prices and a collapsing ruble are crippling Russia’s economy.

Oyster Bar built a thriving business serving mollusks to well-heeled Muscovites. Then came Western sanctions, and the restaurant was forced to rechristen itself this fall. Today, it serves up burgers and pizza under a new name: No Oyster Bar.

Russia’s parliament gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a bill that would grant compensation to individuals hit by Western sanctions, a move that the usually compliant opposition criticized as a Kremlin attempt to buy the loyalty of the elite.