Vladimir Putin wasn’t having a great day. The Russian president had spent the August morning in a helicopter over Khabarovsk, near the Chinese border, surveying flood damage that had left tens of thousands of people homeless. Then he met with senior advisers who were on the trip, for a briefing on economic issues. They drew parallels to another brewing storm: The energy-export model Putin had relied on to restore Russia’s economic strength had run its course, he was told, said two officials on the trip. The state-dominated economy needed a shock, and, to prevent stagnation as growth slowed, a reset. Something had to be done. The solution Putin chose will ripple through the entire Russian economy starting next year: He elected to freeze prices at such powerful state companies as OAO Gazprom (GAZP) and OAO Russian Railways. The plan is to set off a chain reaction that will lead […]