It’s a scary situation when after oil and gas, a country’s top export is arms. Somehow I just don’t see that really helping the world. Although India and China are traditionally the largest buyers, Russia has been ambitiously expanding its weapons customer portfolio and enjoying an estimated 23% growth in sales from last year. It’s not even so much that scary dictators like Qaddafi and Chavez count themselves among the most enthusiastic and loyal customers, but rather what has Washington (and Israel) worried is the big bump up in arms sales to Iran, Syria, and North Korea. Today the United States decided to impose sanctions against Rosoboronexport (along with a dozen of other firms from China, Sudan, Venezuela) which prompted quick and angry responses from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other officials, which outlined much of the exact same arguments that critics have against Gazprom. It’s the return of the doppelgänger effect…