The Russian Economy survives despite the War??

The war between Ukraine and Russia has been a long story since the beginning of the pandemic. The Russian economy has been facing multiple blockades from several of the world's superpower nations. There are a lot of sanctions being put in place to bring an end to the war with Ukraine; however, there is no definitive answer to when the war is likely to end.

The Russian Economy surviving??

Despite the setbacks from its trading partners in terms of the non-support of the war with Ukraine, Russia remains sticking its neck out and is surviving. Numerous economic issues have recently arisen due to increased costs and creeping inflation.  In terms of fuel prices, it's said to have increased, which has led to an increase in all the retail goods prices by 18%, which is high. In general, inflation has increased by 0.7% (10.2%) compared to 9.5% recorded last year. The recent announcement of the removal of the subsidies on fuel is likely to trigger more pressure on inflation in the Russian economy. In terms of oil exports, Russia has cut down on oil exports significantly. In May 2025, it exported 133,000 tonnes of petrol by sea, less than the previous month( 23.5 million tonnes) and 47% less than in May 2024.

At the moment, the Russian economy has turned its trade to trade with only two trade partners in the east, primarily in China and India. This is particularly true in terms of oil. This also included nations like Turkey and Kazakhstan as trading countries for the Russian economy. China is now considered one of the important trade partners for most of their goods for the economy, and the dependency is growing strong. With this, many of the European exports are replaced with Chinese imports. China stands to gain with a major portion of the products, such as automobiles, metals, chemical exports, and textiles, being exported to Russia. It’s the compromise that Russia is willing to make to sustain its economy, as they are not able to procure quality products from the European Union.

Russia still has to contend with its struggle to tame its inflation. It's not easy for its citizens to sustain themselves for a long time, as even their staple food products, such as potatoes, remain expensive for its citizens.  The Western nations have imposed sanctions, and prices continue to soar; the pressure is high in terms of the surge in prices. Deep labor shortages caused by heavy recruitment by the army and arms manufacturers have led to an increase in inflation and demand for higher prices.

The Russian central bank has cut down its interest rates to tame inflation, bringing the prices under control. The nation will have to make a series of changes in terms of economic policies, foreign policies, and also in terms of the war with Ukraine. All these would bring some respite to its citizens.

If this continues, the pressure of inflation is likely to take a toll on its citizens and would create major unrest.