The bravura statements of the Kremlin leadership about Russia's financial growth, improving the well-being of Russians and "everything is going according to plan" contradict the forecasts of their own economy ministry. Officials estimate the economic downturn by the end of 2022 at 8.8 percent.
According to the most optimistic scenarios for the aggressor country, oil production will fall by 9.3%, and gas by 5.5%. Also, exports of petroleum products will decrease by 20% and gas exports by 10%.
The Bank of New York has informed the owners of Russian Eurobonds that it refuses to act as a trustee of these securities due to EU sanctions. Deutsche Bank stopped working with a number of prominent Russian banks, closing their correspondent accounts. Such actions could cause problems with Russians transferring funds abroad. Earlier, a similar decision was made by the Raiffeisen group. The French group Societe Generale has completed the sale of Rosbank and all its Russian assets.
After the imposition of sanctions, the supply of Chinese technology to Russia fell sharply:
- The supply of laptops from China to Russia in March fell by 40% compared to February.
- Imports of smartphones decreased by 2/3.
- Imports of telecommunications network equipment fell by 98%.
The military invasion of Ukraine did not go unnoticed by small businesses in Russia. More than 60,000 bankruptcy cases were registered in Russia in March and April.
