The Russian economic output (GDP) is shrinking.
According to the Ministry of Economics in Moscow, it fell by 4 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous year.
In the first quarter, it had grown by 3.5 percent.
In June, however, the decline accelerated to minus 4.9 percent compared to the previous year after minus 4.3 percent in May.
In April, Russian economic output fell by 2.8 percent.
According to the Ministry, the improved situation in the extraction industry and the ongoing dynamic in agriculture supported economic activity at least somewhat in June and thus prevented a major decline.
Oil production increased by 2.7 percent last month, while it fell by 2.4 percent in May.
Agricultural production grew by 2.1 percent in June, as in the previous month.
Meanwhile, the decline in the oil refining sector fell to minus 0.5 percent in June from minus 5.5 percent in May.
“Not surprising that these misunderstandings persist”
The official Russian statistics confirm what experts from the American Yale University had just calculated: that the Russian economy is suffering significantly more from the sanctions imposed by the West than is occasionally portrayed.
The researchers led by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld wrote, at times quite optimistically, about the development of the Russian economy: "This is simply untrue - and an expression of a widespread, but actually incorrect understanding of how the Russian economy is holding up in the face of the exodus of over 1000 global companies and Western sanctions ."
They clearly criticized the way selective data from Russia is handled, especially in the West.
“It is not surprising that these misunderstandings persist.
Since the invasion, the Kremlin's release of economic data has been very selective, dropping unfavorable metrics and only releasing those that are more favorable.
These statistics, chosen by Putin, are then circulated across the media and used by well-meaning but reckless experts to create forecasts that are overblown and unrealistically favorable to the Kremlin.”