What's going on?

Russian oil titan Rosneft said on Monday that it�s planning to pay a record-high dividend.

What does this mean?

The oil price has been surging this year, hitting $120 a barrel for the second time in a couple of months on Monday. That�s mostly because the European Union is reportedly edging closer to banning Russian oil imports altogether, while Iran just went ahead and seized two Greek oil tankers � a move that could jeopardize relations with (and the oil supply from) the Middle East.

This has all played right into Rosneft�s hands: the company � which is responsible for about 40% of Russia�s total production � already posted its best-ever profit last year, and this booming oil price suggests it could top that record this year. And seeing as it now has so much cash burning a hole in its pocket, it just announced that it�d pay a record dividend to its investors too.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: Russians are used to a chill.
You�d think Rosneft would be struggling more than it has been, given that many of the world�s biggest economies are giving Russia the cold shoulder. But India and China aren�t quite so at odds with the country, to the extent that their combined purchases hit an all-time high in April. In fact, Asian countries as a whole have been happy to hold up their empty bowl of gruel: new data has shown that Asia overtook Europe as the biggest buyer of Russian oil for the first time last month.

Zooming out: Russia�s got a friend in OPEC.
The sky-high oil price continues to be a serious concern for major economies, which is why the G7 has just urged OPEC � a group of oil-producing countries � to boost production significantly. But that�s a long shot: OPEC is benefiting from the current environment, meaning it has no real incentive to ramp up production faster than it was planning to anyway.