The ruble’s recent appreciation, mostly due to rising oil prices, has led some analysts to conclude that Russia’s economy is on its way to recovery. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently made his own optimistic assertion: “No collapse has happened. The Russian economy has relatively easy overcome these artificial barriers (created by the sanctions),” he said at a meeting of legislators in St. Petersburg last week. But trusting Mr. Putin’s words has not proven to be a winning strategy of late, and this is no exception. Russia’s economic reality remains far from promising, thanks to continuing western sanctions that even increasing …read more
Source: European Voice