Gross domestic product (GDP) only grew by 1.4% in the first quarter of 2025 – a notable decline from 4.5% growth in the previous quarter and 5.4% in the same period last year, the Moscow Times reported, citing Rosstat data.
The latest data from Rosstat came in below expectations: the Russian Economic Development Ministry estimated GDP growth at 1.7% and Bloomberg analysts predicted 1.8% growth.
They usually crash when trying to return to normalcy. That’s why Putin doesn’t want peace at reasonable terms: Because if he doesn’t have a total and complete victory, it’s going to be hard to distract from the complete and total collapse. The longer this goes on, the worse the fall will be, but he doesn’t have much of a choice.
This is (one of the reasons) why I hope sanctions remain in place even after a peace deal.
I’d hope the sanctions will remain in place as long as Russia occupies Ukraine.