Russia and the Global Financial-Economic Crisis

Abstract

Of all the G-20 economies, the Russian Federation has been most seriously affected by the global financial–economic crisis that began gathering momentum at a rapid pace from the summer of 2008. In 2009, its gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 7.9 per cent, the largest fall of any G-20 country (International Monetary Fund, 2010). The only other G-20 country with a comparable GDP decline was Mexico, with a fall of 7.3 per cent. In the same year, the Chinese economy grew by 9.1 per cent and that of India by 5.7 per cent, whereas in Brazil output fell by 0.2 per cent. According to the International Monetary Fund’s forecast of July 2010, GDP in Russia will grow by 4.3 per cent in 2010 and 4.1 per cent in 2011. In 2009, Russia also had one of the highest rates of inflation of any G-20 country, with an annual average of 11.6 per cent, whereas many other economies experienced deflation or inflation of far less than 5 per cent (ibid).