Economics
Putin’s War Sends Russian Economy Back to 2018 in Single Quarter
- GDP declined annual 4% last quarter, first drop in over a year
- Post-invasion drop milder than first forecast, may last longer
Vladimir Putin in Moscow, on June 24.
Photographer: Mikhail Metzel/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine set Russia’s economy back four years in the first full quarter after the attack, putting it on track for one of the longest downturns on record even if less sharply than initially feared.
In a bleak tally of the war for Russia, an economy that was picking up speed at the start of 2022 swung into a contraction during the second quarter. Data on Friday showed gross domestic product shrank for the first time in over a year but fared better than forecast, dropping an annual 4%.