Putin: The Russian economy probably shrank by 2.5% in 2022 but it exceeded expectations despite all the sanctions imposed on us
The Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that his country’s economy likely shrank by 2.5% in 2022, but that it was doing better than most experts expected.
Putin, who was speaking at a meeting with senior officials including the finance minister and the head of the Central Bank, said real wage growth needed to increase.
“It turns out that the actual activity is better than the experts expected,” Putin said.
According to the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, Russia’s GDP decreased between January and November 2022, but only by 2.1%.
“Some experts in our country, not to mention foreigners, predicted a drop of 10 percent, 15% or even 20%, and for the full year, the Russian economy is expected to contract by 2.5 percent”.
The war in Ukraine and the resulting barrage of Western sanctions have upended some sectors of the Russian economy, cutting off its largest banks from the SWIFT network, restricting its access to technology and limiting its ability to export oil and gas.
While the government and central bank have acknowledged the difficulties, Moscow says its economy is resilient and that the sanctions have backfired on the West by increasing inflation and energy prices.
