Agricultural sanctions on Australia are only one aspect of Russia's confrontation with the west over the situation in Ukraine.Meanwhile, a revolution in the Russian banking system is underway and getting lively.Reuters reports that state-controlled Rosselkhozbank and Gazprombank, in which state-controlled gas company Gazprom and state development bank VEB are co-owners, asked for at least 117 billion roubles (US$3.2 billion) to underpin lending. The government has already said it would spend 239 billion roubles (US$6.6 billion) from the National Wealth Fund, which collects oil revenues, to buy out preferred shares of VTB and Rosselkhozbank to boost their capital.Three banks - VTB, Gazprombank and Rosselkhozbank - are converting subordinated loans received during the financial crisis of 2008/09 into equity to avoid redemption and paying interest.