Russia’s economy will grow faster than almost all developed economies this year at 3.2 percent, according to the latest forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Its latest report is a blow to the European Commission, which has remained steadfast in its desire to sanction Moscow, often to its own detriment.
Russian economic growth is expected to outpace the 2.7 percent predicted for the United States, the 0.5 percent forecast for Britain, and, as far as the European Union is concerned, the two big European economies, Germany and France, will only manage 0.2 and 0.7 percent respectively.
Western sanctions appear to have made Russia much more resilient than before the war. Domestic consumption has so far held steady without problems, and domestic investment has helped critical industries overcome the initial turmoil caused by the punitive measures.
The role of the private sector has been invaluable in solving the problem, and as for energy exports, the country’s main source of revenue, India, China, and several countries in the global south have opened their doors to Moscow; also, there is the failure of the G7 oil price ceiling.
It was the success of the military industry that gave the Russian economy an initial boost from which it was able to benefit in all other sectors during the two and a half years of the armed conflict.
Russian economic growth cannot be expected to continue indefinitely with its current constraints and its pursuit of a war-based economy, but it would appear the short term is not a concern for Moscow. Next year’s estimate has also been revised up to a predicted growth of 1.8 percent.
