The Russian government has announced its proposed budget for 2024. For the first time in modern history, the country is set to spend 6% of gross domestic product (GDP) on the military, and defense spending will exceed social spending. The war against Ukraine and the West is not only the Kremlin’s biggest priority; it is now also the main driver of Russia’s economic growth.
There’s no doubt that the sanctions passed against Russia by the U.S., the EU, and others will have an enormous effect on Russia’s economy, while the exodus of international companies from the Russian market will have a significant impact on the country’s employment rate. To get a sense of how these changes will affect people's lives, Meduza spoke to Natalia Zubarevich, an economist and geographer who has spent her career studying economic development and its distribution in Russia.
A Russian default on its debts after western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine is no longer “improbable”, but would not trigger a global financial crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday.
Russia’s foreign minister on Thursday struck a defiant tone in the face of intensifying economic sanctions, saying that his country would recover from the crisis with a “full bill of health” and vowing never again to rely on Western partners.
Sergey Lavrov told CNBC that Russia could handle its economy by itself as the pariah state becomes increasingly isolated by international powers seeking to stymie President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
