Putin talked about the benefits of war for the economy

Last year, when Russia invaded Ukraine, became the world champion in terms of the number of sanctions imposed, faced a record 30-year flight of citizens abroad and technological isolation, to the benefit of the country and the economy, said President Vladimir Putin.

“Despite some costs, I believe that last year was only beneficial, given that we have become much more sovereign and independent,” Putin said on Tuesday at a meeting with workers at the Ulan-Ude aircraft factory.

According to the president, he was afraid that the Russian economy might fail and collapse. According to Putin, this is what Western companies that left the Russian Federation counted on.

But “nothing like that happened,” the president said. According to him, participants in economic activity in Russia “have grown up and strengthened”, and the economy collapsed by only 2.1% at the end of the year, while Ukraine’s GDP collapsed by 40% (quotes from RIA Novosti and TASS).

According to Rosstat, unemployment has fallen to a historically low level of 3.6%, and the real disposable income of citizens has fallen by only 1% – less than during the pandemic crisis.

Russia’s official statistics paint a rosy picture of the economy, but don’t believe it, says Agat Demarais, head of forecasting at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

“Russia has made statistics a central part of its information warfare. And her goal is clear – to prove that sanctions don’t work and thus weaken those who believe they are a key tool to stop and stop Russian aggression in Ukraine,” notes Demarais.

As he emphasizes, it is currently not possible to verify Rosstat’s data.