This was announced by the national statistical office Rosstat on the basis of preliminary figures on Wednesday in Moscow. Economists had expected a sharper decline of 4.7 percent.
It’s already the second quarter, which is completely shaped by the war against Ukraine that began on February 24th. In the winter quarter, the Russian economy grew by 3.5 percent. In the spring, GDP had already shrunk by 4.0 percent. Western countries in particular had decided on extensive sanctions because of the war.
According to a survey by the Bloomberg news agency, the recession could peak in the first three months of next year with a decline in economic output of more than eight percent. The economy is therefore not likely to grow again until the third quarter of 2023.
Economists at the US bank Morgan Stanley had only expressed skepticism about the prospects for the Russian economy this week: “We see a sustained shock on the supply side and forced structural change towards an economy with a lower technology standard, which will lead to a longer recession and will lead to lower potential growth”.
