One leader who may be rather pleased about the Brexit.

“We are not interfering in this,” the Russian president insisted, when others including British Prime Minister David Cameron claimed he had a stake in seeing the UK leave the EU.

Mr Putin said afterwards that the failure of the two main parties to run a successful Remain campaign showed “arrogance and a superficial approach from the British leadership to issues that are vital to their country.”

He said it showed the vast majority of British citizens were “not happy with the resolution of security issues, which have sharply deteriorated on the back of strong flows of migrants.”

A cool and detached Mr Putin said the result would have “pluses and minuses” but was “understandable”, saying the EU imposed even more obligations on member states than the Soviet Union had.

But experts say Russia could benefit enormously from the Brexit, with some of Mr Putin’s allies openly applauding the referendum result. Here’s how it could play right into his hands.

Vladimir Putin will be hoping for a boost to trade with the UK and EU.Source:AFP

ECONOMIC GAINS

The EU is Russia’s main trading partner, accounting for about half of imports and exports, while Britain accounts for 2.7 per cent of exports and 1.9 per cent of imports.

The turmoil in Europe could offer major economic opportunities for Russia, boosting trade with both the UK and other EU countries.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted on the day of the vote that Russia was “interested in the EU remaining a major economic force” and hoped London would understand the need for better relations with Moscow.

Russia made a $US3.7 billion paper profit on its gold reserves in the first 24 hours after the vote in response to global uncertainty, Mark Galeotti, a visiting fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations, wrote on Vox.

Sterling’s weakness against the euro creates an opening for non-EU exporters to take market share.

With Britain suffering economically, it is more likely to overlook calls for more transparency and accountability in business and open the door wider for Russian trade, however questionable.

LIFTING SANCTIONS

The US and EU have held Russia under economic sanctions after Mr Putin’s intervention in Ukraine’s civil war.

This could be the moment these sanctions are wound back.

UK foreign secretary Philip Hammond warned European resolve to maintain sanctions might “waver”, with Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin also predicting: “Without the UK in the EU there will no longer be anyone so zealously standing up for sanctions against us.”

Mr Putin said he didn’t expect such a result.

“It’s a clear positive for Russia,” Ian Bremmer, president of the geopolitical consultancy Eurasia Group, told CNBC. “Putin wants a weak Europe and a weak trans-Atlantic relationship, and it will help him undermine the US-led sanctions regime as well as maintain a stronger lock on downstream energy relations to the continent.”

The president, pictured with Chinese President Xi Jinping, will be wanting to pursue his global ambitions free from Western interference.Source:Getty Images

THE WEST IN DISARRAY

In-fighting and a lack of unity in Europe can only be advantageous for black sheep Russia.

Mr Putin will be hoping to see longtime enemy NATO lose coherence, too.

Many senior pro-Kremlin figures have openly rejoiced in the chaos caused by the Brexit.

“After Britain, NATO, Schengen and the euro will collapse,” predicted nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, according to Interfax. “Long live the Russian rouble and the development of relations with all democratic countries of Europe!”

Boris Titov, head of the Right Cause party, pushed a popular view in Moscow that France, Germany and Russia should unite Europe against the United Kingdom and United States.

“In my opinion, the most important long-term result of all this is that their exit will tear Europe away from the Anglo-Saxons, that is to say, from the USA,” he wrote on Facebook.

“This isn’t independence of Britain from Europe, this is independence of Europe from the USA.”

Many believe Russia’s propaganda machine will now be even more active in Europe, after France’s separatist Front National received an $11.7 million loan from a Russian bank in 2014.

Countries battling domestic political uncertainty may be less focused on defence expenditure and supporting Western allies.

What would benefit Mr Putin more than anything is a West too shambolic to resist Russia’s grand global ambitions.

BUT IT COULD BACKFIRE...

This is all a fine balance. With the EU such a crucial trading partner, Mr Putin will not want it to slip into crisis or see a slump in oil prices.

While gold reserves soared, much of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves were in sterling, and shrank by about $US1.2 billion in the 24 hours after the vote.

Konstantin Kosachev, chair of the Russian Senate’s foreign affairs committee, warned that “if the EU gets weighed down in its own problems, and crosses the line into crisis, then it will affect our trade relations.”

If the Russian economy suffers, it will be harder to maintain the loyalty of the elites, pacify the masses, and keep spending on the military and gaining international power.

Finally, while Russia may despise the slow, bureaucratic and regulatory EU, it does help to keep more volatile members, such a Poland, in check.

Without its stability, the consequences may be more erratic than even Putin wants.

emma.reynolds@news.com.au