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Find Out Why Russia's Economy Will Improve Despite Western Sanctions

14:16, 9 August 2023
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Samantha Arias
Writer
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Despite the US-led West's sanctions, Russia has emerged as the globe's fifth-largest economy, according to the World Bank. The country had been able to assert its position on the economic stage and even accelerate the multipolarity process, as Cameroonian economist Jean René Ndouma explained to Sputnik Africa.
Sputnik
The sanctions had enabled Russia to work towards the emergence of a multipolar world, by deepening its relationship with BRICS and strengthening its trade relations with certain regions such as Africa, Jean René Ndouma, a Cameroonian consultant in financial markets and digital finance, told Sputnik Africa.

"With everything that has happened, the multipolarization that has been triggered has accelerated. The sanctions resulting from the special operation have enabled Russia to take appropriate measures and strengthen its position, both economically and geostrategically [...]," said the analyst, commenting on Russia occupying the position of the world's fifth-largest economy in a recent World Bank study.

As a result, "the trends for the Russian economy are logically positive," the economist assured.
Ndouma pointed to the interest generated by the latest Russia-Africa summit, which proved that Moscow is not isolated and that its economy will fare even better in the years to come.
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On the other hand, the West has been paying a heavy price for their sanctions, having sidelined Russia, which supplies gas, oil and grain to Western countries. Several Western countries have been ignoring the restrictions by importing the abovementioned commodities through indirect channels, via India or China, added the economist.

Action and reaction

Russia did not let the US-led Western sanctions bring it down, it was able to adapt, noted Ndouma. In particular, the country demonstrated resilience in the face of its exclusion from the SWIFT system and the freezing of its assets, a punitive measure that the analyst castigated as "abusive and illegal".

"There have been key sanctions such as the freezing of Russian assets, to which Russia has reacted appropriately [...] By deciding, for example, no longer to sell these products abroad in dollars, but instead to sell them in rubles [...] The sanctions and the Russian reaction have enabled the country to strengthen its economy and diversify its partnerships, especially with Africa," he explained.

Russian Growth

In its latest report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) once again revised Russia's growth prospects upwards to 1.5% in 2023, a far cry from the "collapse" predicted by some, in particular French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. Better still, with these results, Russia is leaving the eurozone in the rearview mirror, with growth expected to reach 0.9% in 2023, according to the IMF.
On the Russian side, growth is even expected to exceed 2% by the end of the year, as explained by Maxim Reshetnikov, Russian Minister of Economic Development.
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