Eight months after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s economy has tipped into a recession, according to official data from Moscow released Wednesday.
Its GDP declined by 4% in the third quarter of the year from a year ago, according to Rosstat, Russia’s statistics agency. This came after a 4.1% year-on-year slump in its second-quarter GDP — meaning the country has fallen into a technical recession after two straight quarterly contractions.
Though the textbook definition isn’t necessarily indicative of a serious downturn — Russia’s third-quarter GDP decline was in milder than the 7% plunge it had expected earlier — Elvira Nabiullina, the country’s top central banker, said Tuesday the country needs to look at the economic situation “very soberly with open eyes” and be prepared for any development, according to news agency Interfax.
“Yes, the situation can worsen, we understand this,” Nabiullina told Russian lawmakers, according to the news agency, adding it was necessary to restructure the economy.
