IN PUTIN’S POCKET

Putin understands that it’s not just military might that matters. Cash counts, too. He formed an economic bloc with Belarus and Kazakhstan in 2010 with a goal to bolster mutual trade through the removal of customs barriers. Armenia and Kyrgyzstan also want to join, and Tajikistan could be on membership track, too. This Customs Union is the basis for the Eurasian Union, a more ambitious economic bloc set to be formed in 2015.

Belarus, led by President Alexander Lukashenko — dubbed “Europe’s last dictator” — has been Russia’s closest ally.

Kazakhstan, led by autocratic President Nursultan Nazarbayev, is the second largest country by territory and economy among the ex-Soviet nations. Nazarbayev has maneuvered between Russia and the West. But Russia has little leverage over Kazakhstan, whose energy riches and economy make it nearly an equal partner.

Armenia, whose economy has been crippled by a blockade imposed by arch-enemy Turkey, has been a staunch Russian ally.

Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished Central Asian nation rocked by political instability, hosted a U.S. air base key for supporting operations in Afghanistan. The base is now being shut down under Russian pressure.

Tajikistan, one of the poorest ex-Soviet nations, hosts 5,000 Russian troops and depends on Russian economic aid and remittances from migrants working in Russia.