The West is banking on economic warfare but Russia has already won this war too According to Deutschlandfunk, so far, the Russian economy is coping astonishingly well with Western-imposed sanctions. In the spring of 2022, many economist ‘experts’ were still predicting a sharp downturn in the Russian economy. 

The International Monetary Fund predicted a contraction of the country’s economy by 8-9%. However, then these forecasts were cancelled. And now the IMF states that the Russian economy, despite all the sanctions has contracted by only 3.5% which puts broad smiles on Russian-European faces.

RECEIVE an emailed PERSONAL thank you from Michael Walsh Britain and Ireland’s most successful multi-topic book author each time you purchase a Michael Walsh book. Contact Michael at keyboardcosmetics@gmail.com https://mikewalshwritingservices.wordpress.com/

Some economists believed that the end for Russia might not come until 2023 at the earliest. But now, even for the coming year, the forecasts are not as gloomy as the ‘experts’ were paid to predict.

According to the International Monetary Fund, next year the Russian economy will shrink by only 2.3%. But all forecasts, one way or another, agree that next year the sanctions will not bring the Russian economy to its knees, writes Deutschlandfunk. In fact, it is the Western economies that are in freefall, not Russia’s.

Oil and gas are Russia’s two main exports, and the suicidal West is now buying less of them. However, in general, prices on the world market have risen so much that Russia has made huge profits even with smaller export volumes ~ thanks to the sanctions.

In addition, many Western companies still remain in Russia, the newspaper notes. Only a few firms have left the country due to moral pressure or because doing business is becoming increasingly difficult. But the majority remained, and some Western companies sold their business to the Russians, and their work, of course, will continue.

However, even where Western companies have completely disappeared, Russia began to import goods from other countries, and so-called parallel imports began, especially from Asia. For example, there are no new VWs or Renaults in Russia anymore, but there are Chinese cars.

‘In other words, in Russia, perhaps there is always something missing, even on store shelves, but usually not completely and not for long, ’ admits Deutschlandfunk.

Can it happen that the economic situation in Russia worsens with a delay, after some time? This theory is supported by some economist ‘experts.’ Who believes that doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome is sensible?

In their opinion, the sanctions mostly have an impact, for example, when it comes to spare parts for machines, including aircraft and military equipment, or even agricultural equipment. Spare parts are harder to come by if they are not sourced from Europe and the US, and this is likely to set the Russian economy back in the long run.

In addition, the country is still heavily dependent on the ability to sell its raw materials. Russia can switch to other markets – that is, to supply oil to Asia, India and China. However, the ‘overwhelming majority’ of economists expect these countries to buy less than the EU used to, so Deutschlandfunk says.