NRK columnist Cecilia Langham Becker expressed surprise at the resilience of the Russian economy. Becker: The hope was to drive Russia into an economic quagmire so that it would be difficult for it to remain engaged in costly military activities for long.
Earlier, the IMF said that Russia was surprised by the strength of economic growth under sanctions. Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that irreversible processes began in European countries after the refusal to supply Russian gas. The Russian economy is “in surprisingly good shape,” Becker said.