Russia’s Economy
Russia’s economy continues to emerge as poverty declines and the middle class expands. Direct investment in Russia, along with its membership in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), helped raise GDP and decrease inflation, offsetting the hyperinflation created from the initial attempt at transitioning to a market-based economy in the early 1990s. Abundant oil and high global energy prices greatly boosted Russia’s economy in the early 2000s. Recognizing the increasing importance of Russia on the global economic stage, the Group of Seven (G7, including the United States, Germany, France, England, Canada, Japan, and Italy) formally expanded to include Russia between 1997 and 2014. However, Russia’s annexation of Crimea ultimately resulted in their suspension from the group, as well as the implementation of multilateral sanctions. These actions, when combined with lower oil and gas prices in recent years, have resulted in a dramatic slowdown in Russia’s economy and a fall in the value of the ruble. Thus, the Russian economy likely will have a number of years of economic instability and many recurrent political problems.
