Russia has had a tough couple of years. Low oil prices, continued economic sanctions and long-standing structural problems in the Russian economy — to say nothing of the country's involvement in Syria and Ukraine — have stretched Moscow's budget thin . Combined with demographic decline and brain drain , Russia's budgetary constraints have hampered development across a variety of economic sectors. Through it all, though, its agricultural sector has proved remarkably hardy, having recovered from a low point after the fall of the Soviet Union. Production levels of numerous crops have grown over the past decade, and the government declared the agricultural industry exempt from budget cuts this year. But this trend belies the formidable hurdles that Russian agriculture will have to overcome. By all appearances, wheat — Russia's flagship crop — is thriving. For much of the past decade, Russian wheat production and exports have climbed.