The war against Ukraine has rolled over the Russian economy like a steamroller. If the Kremlin ends the "special military operation" this year, the country will face a severe economic crisis. If the war continues, the catastrophe will be even greater.
This was stated by Russian economist Igor Lipsitz in an interview with the Khodorkovsky LIVE. He noted that he is pessimistic about Russia's future regardless of what happens next. Nothing good awaits the country.
"I belong to the group of pessimists. I'm not the only one, there is a whole group of brilliant economists who believe that the Russian economy is in a state of extreme, dangerously high tension. Notice that even Putin has started saying that the economy needs to be cooled... Clearly, it can no longer grow solely through military production. There are very big financial problems starting. And then there's more: imports have fallen, the ruble has strengthened, which is also a blow to the budget. The situation is complicated... The year 2025 is worrying for Russia. It’s at a crossroads — either it will stop the war and somehow return to peaceful life, or it will enter a situation from which there’s no turning back, only total destruction," said the Russian economist.
According to him, for Russia, the war against Ukraine will be particularly devastating if Putin succeeds in maintaining control over the occupied territories.
"In the modern world, such a destructive, heavy, and costly war destroys the economy very severely. Most countries lose from war. And Russia will lose. It will be in a very tough situation for a long time, and it won’t be able to recover for a long time. After this war, Russia could have a terrible burden in the form of new territories... What should be done with them next? They have been destroyed by the war, and they need to be rebuilt, which will require enormous amounts of money... Tens of trillions of rubles will have to be spent to bring these territories to some semblance of order. And where will the money come from? (...) War for Russia is a disaster. But peace in the form that Putin wants is also a disaster and a loss. Russia has no good options," concluded Lipsitz.
He is confident that Putin will not return to peaceful existence.
"There will be no full peace agreement, and there won’t be a major war. What there will be is a Korean-style situation and an arms race, which will drain Russia just as it destroyed the Soviet Union... In any case, Russia has a very big disaster ahead. It is now doomed for generations to major economic difficulties. A catastrophe will happen if the price of oil falls significantly. That threat exists," concluded the expert.
