Despite the sanctions, Russia's economy continues to grow

2024-03-12 16:30:49, Kosova & Bota CNA

After Russia's attack on Ukraine, the United States and Europe imposed numerous economic sanctions on Russia. But as Voice of America correspondent Liliya Anisimova reports, Russia's economy has not suffered the predicted damage even after two years of war.

Nearly 15,000 different sanctions were imposed on the Russian government, individuals and companies in the first year of Russia's war on Ukraine.

And yet, Russia's economy continued to grow. Military aid from North Korea and Iran contributed in this direction, and so did the imagination of Russian engineers.

"Russia has shown imagination to use semiconductors found in devices such as refrigerators, or other devices. They removed the semiconductors and circuits of these devices and used them for military equipment ," says Klaus Larres, from the Wilson Center.

Many businesses have already boycotted Russia. Firms such as Prada, IKEA or LG, along with thousands of others, have limited their activity in Russia, or have left the country.

Russia has weathered all this, in part by strengthening relations with China. Chinese exports to Russia have increased by 120%, since 2021. In return, Russian oil is supplying China.

"From the Chinese point of view, it is the share of exports and that of imports. In terms of imports, they have become the world's largest customer for Russian oil and coal ," says Kenneth Pomeranz, from the University of Chicago.

Western sanctions have frozen the accounts of Russia's Central Bank, imposed a price ceiling on Russian oil, and closed European airspace to Russian aircraft. And yet, the Russian economy continues to grow.

"We must appreciate the work of the Central Bank of Russia, which, although its reserves were frozen abroad, faced the new developments and began to take a series of steps to correct the situation ," says Vladimir Dashkeev, from Seattle University.

Russia has also avoided sanctions by receiving Western goods through third countries, such as Georgia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Despite the sanctions, the International Monetary Fund increased the forecast for Russia's economic growth for this year, from 1.1% to 2.6%./ VOA