Russian investors are effectively cut off from Western financial markets, with their portfolios "hanging" as a result of blocked cross-border settlements. Is this to say that Russian private investors can no longer watch the world stock market, instead concentrate solely on the Russian one?

That is why, even while there is no de facto possibility to trade in overseas markets, Russian investors should continue to attentively follow their developments. Their dynamics reflect the global economy's future development, rather than the potential to invest in specific instruments.
The key driving force for markets in recent months has been the already implemented sanctions and the proposed embargo on Russian Federation energy supply, as well as prospective counter-sanctions. This type of event is a classic black swan. They are nearly hard to forecast and exceedingly difficult to prepare for. The hardening of geopolitics came as a total surprise to the markets, judging by the practically vertical spike in prices for numerous commodities, where Russia is one of the primary international suppliers.