Russia’s economy once again defies the doomsayers
invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s economy has repeatedly defied the doomsayers. A financial collapse, widely predicted in the spring of 2022, never came to pass. The economy fell into recession, but it was less severe than expected and did not last long.
Inflation was the most recent scare. Last year prices accelerated rapidly; economists believed they could spiral out of control. Even Mr Putin was worried.
In February he urged officials to give “special consideration" to rising prices. Once again, however, the Russian economy appears to be proving the pessimists wrong. Data to be published on March 13th are expected to show that prices rose by 0.6% month-on-month in February, down from 1.1% at the end of last year.
On a year-on-year basis inflation is probably no longer rising, having hit 7.5% in November (see chart 1). Many forecasters expect the rate to fall to just 4% before long, and households’ expectations of future inflation have flattened. The result of Russia’s presidential election, which begins on March 15th, is a foregone conclusion.
If it was competitive, these figures would do Mr Putin no harm. Russian inflation surged last year owing to a fiscal splurge larger than the one implemented during the covid-19 pandemic. As Mr Putin doubled down on his invasion of Ukraine, he increased spending on everything from transportation equipment and weapons to soldiers’ salaries.
Total government outlays rose by 8% in real terms. Demand for goods and services soared beyond the economy’s capacity to provide them, leading sellers to raise prices. Workers became particularly difficult to find, not least because hundreds of thousands were called up and tens of thousands fled the country.
Read more on livemint.com
