In the modern model of a society of advanced consumption, a higher standard of living is not for those who live within their means and save for a rainy day, but for those who actively use credit leverage and have a chronic budget deficit.
The large gold and foreign exchange reserves that Russia has managed to accumulate is, on the one hand, good, but on the other hand, this means that Russia has been purposefully filling the National Welfare Fund for years, instead of using this money to develop the economy. In fact, this money was systematically withdrawn from circulation and lay dead weight, undermined by inflation (if we are talking about fiat currencies), or taking up space in the vault and not paying dividends (if we are talking about gold).
Since 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, Russia has been under heavy pressure from economic sanctions, so its current economic model is more of a wartime economy than a peacetime one. I think Putin understood perfectly well that the US and NATO would hardly risk entering into a direct military confrontation with Russia (because "there are no winners in a nuclear war"), and the West's pressure on Russia would be economic.
"Putin knew", "Putin assumed" - this is the biggest misconception! Since 2014, Putin has been living in a closed sphere filled with information fakes, with elements of mental masturbation
Let me explain - since 2014, for sure, and possibly earlier, Putin's corrupt entourage realized that he only needs to throw in the news only what he wants to hear, and you can continue to plunder budgets, without risk. Putin gets "moral ecstasy" after another news folder where Russia has defeated everyone, everyone is afraid of it, and they are already building a base on Mars. Let everything degrade in reality, but Putin will not go to all Syzran and check?! He is served beauty from TV, from folders and reports. He was also sure that the huge sums spent on bribing politicians in the EU and other administrations would not allow launching the mechanism of total sanctions and arms supplies to Ukraine. He was sure, but he got it wrong ... And now the problem begins, which in psychiatry is called "cognitive dissonance"! His most powerful army, the army of Ukraine, has been raped as it wants and will soon be driven out of the territory of Ukraine, the economy has collapsed, partners are turning away, sanctions are intensifying ... And on the way, the "great leader" also has senile dementia and Parkinson's disease ...