The Russian economy is collapsing

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The times when Vladimir Putin (70) took advantage of the high gas and oil prices through his war of aggression in Ukraine are over. Western sanctions are increasingly attacking the domestic economy. The system is falling apart.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Russian state revenues are becoming increasingly scarce. The newspaper writes that there is practically no growth anymore because nobody wants to invest their money in a Russian project. Companies withdraw their capital, important export commodities such as gas and oil no longer find buyers. This greatly increases inflation. The ruble has depreciated more than 20 percent against the US dollar since the end of 2022.

The number of working people has fallen significantly as young people are sent to the front or flee the country for fear of regular mobilizations. This reduces productivity. The sum of these factors paints a bleak picture.

There is a social dilemma looming

A former Central Bank of Russia official who fled just before the invasion believes Russia’s economy will not recover soon and is sliding into a long-term decline. But that does not prevent the government from going to war, the Russian explains to the WSJ.

However, a growing social dilemma arises: how can rising military spending be reconciled with human crises? In the future, it could be difficult to explain this to the suffering civilian population. The small and medium-sized entrepreneurs cannot continue their business and are worried about the future.

In the more than 20 years since Putin came to power, many people have benefited from the steady growth of the Russian economy thanks to high oil and gas prices. That’s the end now.

Putin miscalculated

Much of the bleak outlook, according to the WSJ, stems from Putin’s expectation that he would use Russia’s energy supplies to curb Western support for Ukraine. This plan did not work: after an initial increase, gas prices fell to a drastically low level.

It seems as if there is an increasing dependence on China. While Russia has now found a way to sell its oil to China and India, the economy remains extremely isolated. (A)

Source: Blick