After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries imposed numerous sanctions against Russian banks and companies, which significantly affected the Russian economy. Yet the economic collapse some expected never came.
This allowed President Vladimir Putin to declare confidently at the beginning of this year: “2022 was a challenging year for us, and we managed to get through the risks that emerged … quite successfully.”
Indeed, the Western sanctions did not undermine Russia’s economic potential to an extent that the Kremlin would lose the ability to finance its war in Ukraine. The events of 2022 have confirmed that the Russian economy is inefficient but resilient and that the Kremlin is able to mitigate any destabilising effect the economic downturn may have on the political front.
The impact of sanctions
The sustainability of the Russian economy is determined by its place in the global division of labour: it stands at the very beginning of technological chains as a supplier of natural resources.
Since the global economy cannot grow without increasing its consumption of natural resources, the demand for Russian raw materials is maintained. This, to a large extent, has protected the Russian economy from the impact of sanctions.
In 2021, Russia provided 17.5 percent of oil sold on the world market, 47 percent of palladium, 16.7 percent of nickel, 13 percent of aluminium (not including China), and almost a quarter of potash fertilisers.
Hypothetically, the world economy could give up Russian raw materials, but only at the cost of price hikes and potentially years of recession, which is not in the interests of Western politicians.
The United States’ attempt to close the access of Russian aluminium to the world market in 2018 led to an instant jump in the price of this metal by 20 percent, which forced the White House to abandon the announced plans.
That is why, in 2022, the West imposed some of the harshest sanctions on Russian export sectors, such as steel, coal and processed wood, where the global economy has spare capacity. The combined share of these raw materials in Russian exports in 2021 was 11.7 percent, so restrictions on sales to Europe did not have a significant impact on Russia’s economy at large.
However, they did affect significantly the economies of certain regions where these sectors are dominant. For example, in November-December 2022, coal mines in Kemerovo, Russia’s core coal production region, were able to sell just 50-60 percent of extracted coal. In Karelia and Arkhangelsk, where there are many woodworking enterprises, industrial production contracted by 15.5 percent and by 19.8 percent respectively. In Lipetsk, it collapsed by 15.4 percent due to a drop in production at the largest Russian steelmaker, Novolipetsk Steel.
Western sanctions related to the oil industry targeted revenues rather than production. As a result, Russian oil production increased by 2 percent in 2022. On February 5, an EU ban on the import of refined petroleum products from Russia came into effect, but there is no evidence yet that it has impacted the Russian economy. Since the beginning of 2023, production of gasoline and diesel fuel climbed by 7 percent compared with the previous year which could in part be the result of increased demand from the Russian army.
The decline in exports of gas to Europe – which is not so much sanctions-related but a consequence of Putin’s “freeze and split” strategy for Europe – has had a more significant impact, with production falling by 18-20 percent. If the situation does not change, gas production may shrink by an additional 7-8 percent in 2023.
The Russian economy in recession
The impact of the sanctions on the Russian economy was significant but it was not as severe as some expected. It contracted by 2.1 percent in 2022 – much less than the predictions of 5-6 percent made in the spring.
The fall in GDP was cushioned by the high oil and gas prices which brought in windfall profits. Revenues from hydrocarbon production and exports increased by 28 percent compared with 2021, and high inflation in the first half of 2022 led to an increase in nominal revenues from taxes.
Financial sanctions, such as the freeze on the accounts and assets of the central bank and commercial banks, and the restriction on payments and access to capital markets, had the most immediate impact on the economy.
In the spring of 2022, it took just a week for inflation in Russia to accelerate to more than two percent per week and for the dollar to appreciate by 60 percent to the rouble. The Russian financial authorities were able to mitigate this initial fallout by imposing restrictions on current and capital transactions and refusing to convert the rouble, thus strengthening the exchange rate and suppressing inflation.
However, the gradual build-up of pressure on the balance of payments associated with restrictions on trade in Russian hydrocarbons led to a fall in the current account balance and a weakening of the rouble by more than 20 percent in the second half of the year.
A more severe blow to the Russian economy came from the “moral sanctions” – the voluntary withdrawal of foreign companies from Russia. The most significant effect was the shutdown of automobile plants, which belonged to international companies. As a result, the production of new cars in Russia fell threefold, and sales – by 59 percent. The manufacturing industry in the Kaluga and Kaliningrad regions, where such plants were concentrated, shrunk by 20 percent.
When considering the drop in industrial production and services, we should take into account the fact that throughout the past year, many foreign companies sold their assets to Russian businesses. This process, especially if we are talking about large production facilities, takes several months and requires the consent of the Russian government.
During this time, current activities may stop, but after the transaction is legally formalised, the companies can resume their work. This means that to a certain extent, the economic decline reflected in shrinking gross domestic product (GDP) for 2022 may be partially compensated in 2023.
The Russian government was also able to mitigate the effect of the sanctions on the general population by increasing spending. Public expenditure went up by 32 percent of the planned budget for 2022 or $113bn.
About half of the additional budget was directed to the military, but much of the rest was spent on new social programmes, including additional indexation of pensions, increased benefits for families with children, deferment of payroll tax payments, etc.
The Russian government was able to cover the extra expenditure from the fiscal reserve accumulated in previous years, the National Wealth Fund (NWF). At the beginning of 2022, the liquid part of it amounted to $113.5bn or 7.3 percent of GDP. The entire budget deficit for 2022, which equalled 3.3 trillion roubles ($50bn), was financed from it. It is likely that in 2023, the fiscal reserve – which now has fallen to 4.6 percent of GDP or $87bn – will be used to cover the budget deficit again.
The pressure on the Russian government budget will inevitably increase in the coming years because the sluggish economy will not be able to generate enough revenues. As a result, the fiscal reserve may disappear completely by 2025-26, but that will not lead to a budgetary crisis. The overall Russian public debt is below 20 percent of GDP which allows the government to borrow from the domestic market.
The long-term outlook
It seems that the past year of sanctions and economic downturn is continuing a trend of stagnation in the Russian economy rather than starting a new one.
In the first eight years of Putin’s presidency (2000-2008), the Russian economy grew at an average rate of 7 percent annually as a result of the economic reforms of the 1990s, high oil prices and extensive foreign borrowing.
By contrast, between 2012 and 2021, the Russian economy grew on average by 1.4 percent. This slow growth had a lot to do with Putin’s authoritarian approach to political and economic decision-making after he returned to the presidency in 2012.
While cracking down on political competition, he also dismantled the progressive system of arbitration courts, which had provided a much higher level of legal protection for businesses. Putin also launched a massive programme to rearm the military at the expense of investment in human capital development.
After the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the unleashing of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, sanctions were imposed against Russia limiting many companies’ access to modern technology. The research and development sector was also undermined, especially by criminal cases launched against Russian scientists, who were accused of treason. These factors severely worsened the business climate in the country and diminished economic growth.
In the short term, the Kremlin will do its best to cushion the Russian population from the effects of the economic crisis.
It is already looking to compensate for falling revenues from slumping oil and gas prices (down 43 percent for October 2022 -January 2023 compared with January-March 2022) by introducing changes to oil tax rates. Putin also declared he wants Russian businesses to contribute voluntary payments to the budget to boost its revenues.
This additional revenue will be used to finance not only the Russian army but also the families of regular and mobilised soldiers. Other social benefits and programmes will also be maintained.
This will ensure that when the time comes for the presidential elections in March 2024, a considerable amount of the population would not mind seeing Putin re-elected with 70-75 percent of the votes.
In the longer term, the Russian economy is still unlikely to experience a collapse. That is because even the most onerous sanctions have a limited effect. Iran is a good example of that. The country has been under US sanctions since 1987, but its GDP grew by 3.3 percent on average between 1990 and 2020.
Like Iran, Russia will gradually lag behind the global economy and it will not achieve more than 1.5-2 percent annual growth.
In the long term, the sanctions will have severe consequences for the technological development of the Russian economy. For ordinary Russians, this would mean a gradual decline in the quality of goods on store shelves and the inaccessibility of services that were customary until the war.
Economic stagnation, however, is unlikely to lead to social or political unrest. The decline of the standard of living will be very slow and uneven, while the repression of dissidents and the political opposition will grow, making the cost of protest very high.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
VICTORIA – British Columbia is forecasting a record budget deficit and a rising debt of almost $129 billion less than two weeks before the start of a provincial election campaign where economic stability and future progress are expected to be major issues.
Finance Minister Katrine Conroy, who has announced her retirement and will not seek re-election in the Oct. 19 vote, said Tuesday her final budget update as minister predicts a deficit of $8.9 billion, up $1.1 billion from a forecast she made earlier this year.
Conroy said she acknowledges “challenges” facing B.C., including three consecutive deficit budgets, but expected improved economic growth where the province will start to “turn a corner.”
The $8.9 billion deficit forecast for 2024-2025 is followed by annual deficit projections of $6.7 billion and $6.1 billion in 2026-2027, Conroy said at a news conference outlining the government’s first quarterly financial update.
Conroy said lower corporate income tax and natural resource revenues and the increased cost of fighting wildfires have had some of the largest impacts on the budget.
“I want to acknowledge the economic uncertainties,” she said. “While global inflation is showing signs of easing and we’ve seen cuts to the Bank of Canada interest rates, we know that the challenges are not over.”
Conroy said wildfire response costs are expected to total $886 million this year, more than $650 million higher than originally forecast.
Corporate income tax revenue is forecast to be $638 million lower as a result of federal government updates and natural resource revenues are down $299 million due to lower prices for natural gas, lumber and electricity, she said.
Debt-servicing costs are also forecast to be $344 million higher due to the larger debt balance, the current interest rate and accelerated borrowing to ensure services and capital projects are maintained through the province’s election period, said Conroy.
B.C.’s economic growth is expected to strengthen over the next three years, but the timing of a return to a balanced budget will fall to another minister, said Conroy, who was addressing what likely would be her last news conference as Minister of Finance.
The election is expected to be called on Sept. 21, with the vote set for Oct. 19.
“While we are a strong province, people are facing challenges,” she said. “We have never shied away from taking those challenges head on, because we want to keep British Columbians secure and help them build good lives now and for the long term. With the investments we’re making and the actions we’re taking to support people and build a stronger economy, we’ve started to turn a corner.”
Premier David Eby said before the fiscal forecast was released Tuesday that the New Democrat government remains committed to providing services and supports for people in British Columbia and cuts are not on his agenda.
Eby said people have been hurt by high interest costs and the province is facing budget pressures connected to low resource prices, high wildfire costs and struggling global economies.
The premier said that now is not the time to reduce supports and services for people.
Last month’s year-end report for the 2023-2024 budget saw the province post a budget deficit of $5.035 billion, down from the previous forecast of $5.9 billion.
Eby said he expects government financial priorities to become a major issue during the upcoming election, with the NDP pledging to continue to fund services and the B.C. Conservatives looking to make cuts.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the debt would be going up to more than $129 billion. In fact, it will be almost $129 billion.
NANAIMO, B.C. – Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney says he’ll be advising the Liberal party to flip some the challenges posed by an increasingly divided and dangerous world into an economic opportunity for Canada.
But he won’t say what his specific advice will be on economic issues that are politically divisive in Canada, like the carbon tax.
He presented his vision for the Liberals’ economic policy at the party’s caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C. today, after he agreed to help the party prepare for the next election as chair of a Liberal task force on economic growth.
Carney has been touted as a possible leadership contender to replace Justin Trudeau, who has said he has tried to coax Carney into politics for years.
Carney says if the prime minister asks him to do something he will do it to the best of his ability, but won’t elaborate on whether the new adviser role could lead to him adding his name to a ballot in the next election.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says she has been taking advice from Carney for years, and that his new position won’t infringe on her role.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government has introduced a bill that would kick-start the province’s offshore wind industry without federal approval.
Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton says amendments within a new omnibus bill introduced today will help ensure Nova Scotia meets its goal of launching a first call for offshore wind bids next year.
The province wants to offer project licences by 2030 to develop a total of five gigawatts of power from offshore wind.
Rushton says normally the province would wait for the federal government to adopt legislation establishing a wind industry off Canada’s East Coast, but that process has been “progressing slowly.”
Federal legislation that would enable the development of offshore wind farms in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador has passed through the first and second reading in the Senate, and is currently under consideration in committee.
Rushton says the Nova Scotia bill mirrors the federal legislation and would prevent the province’s offshore wind industry from being held up in Ottawa.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
