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Russia’s economy and current issues

Russia has been a host of several upwards and downward political and economic periods.

Each of these recessions from the soviet days has had positive and negative implications.

Therefore, similar implications have been experienced since the global pandemic affected the

world. COVID-19 caused an economic downturn for Russia, affecting its financial structure and

making it difficult to manage the crisis adequately. Therefore, the following defines the rise and

fall of the Russian economy and how the current issue is related to economic and political

reasons.

Let alone Russia, every government in the world cannot easily escape the consequences

of an economic drop. Russia has always depended on the exports of hydrocarbons, so its

economy is entirely supported by its ability to oil trade (Libman). In that case, ever since the

global pandemic strike in 2019, their economic problems have increased significantly. The

pandemic affected the structured outflow of resources from hydrocarbons. The collapse of their

oil spring businesses in 2020 severely reduced their revenues flow. These, together with the

percentage of resources Russia required to sustain their nation, created tremendous pressure,

especially in comparison to other countries. In that case, compared to other currencies, Russia

was losing its grip and authority in the global market. Countries like the United States have aided

Russia's existence in the global market since the late 1980s; countries allowed Russia to

interdepend on them due to their growing and massive supply of oils (Mau and Alexey). This
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ensured that the Russian economy steadily grew to its most significant peak (Mau). However,

what Russia did not anticipate was that the same benefits created a considerable cost for Russia.

Therefore, this effect can best define the current war between Russia and Ukraine as a financial

war (Semenov). The intentions of Putin always have been to unite the old USSR ever since he

stepped into power. Putin constantly stated his intentions as creating an economy that could

compete with Europe (Current Issues in Russia).

After the pandemic affected every nation, Russia had to take measures to protect its

Citizens. The measures created optimism at first since the trust in their political institutions has

always remained intact. According to statistics, half of the nation believed that the measures

taken by their rulers were evaluated and determined to be accurate and developmental enough to

sustain their countries. Contrary to their beliefs, the impact of the pandemic on Russia was still

causing a great imbalance. This was greatly experienced in supply and demand. It brought about

diverse unanticipated consequences to the nation, with the decline in average disposable income

falling to a percentage of 8.2. This caused their annual inflation rates to hit 4.9 percent, above

their banking systems' calculations. Reports even suggested and warned of such inflations

affecting Russia negatively in the long run (Semenov). To sum up their problems, the Russians

did not reconsider the idea that only the top government officials were responsible for these

catastrophes. Contrary to this opinion, it was still evident that most of their problems arose from

the federal and presidential authority over the entire situation. However, despite the negative

results brought about by these Russian individuals, they hesitated to punish the perpetrators of

these acts. In fact, Vladimir Putin's approval rates showed that half of the country was in support

of his methods. Therefore, Russian political elites did not take their responsibilities seriously,

which brought about politically influenced consequences for the nation (Libman). For instance,
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in Russia, the life expectancy of men is 11 times lower than that of women. The nation is, thus, a

walking disaster where issues like crime and drug abuse are left unchecked (Current Issues in

Russia).

As the irrational leader he is, Putin's main aim is to deepen the country's wealth banks.

Thus, the Russian-Ukraine war proceeded as an act of the president trying to redeem their

economic crisis. Russia is, therefore, in an economic dilemma, and its efforts to redeem itself

have resulted in misguided political notions. However, Ukraine strongly opposes acts of injustice

in their country. If Russia had the resources of Ukraine, redeeming their country would be easier;

thus, the president resulted in coercion and intimidation. When Putin came into power, Russia

was drained economically; he has ever since attempted to redeem the country; however, all seem

to arrive at their current situation (Current Issues in Russia). Hypothetically speaking, if Russia

did win over Ukraine and made them a part of their territory, the glory of the Soviet Union

would be bestowed upon Russia. The Eastern and the Western block would be United, and as a

result, Russia would not need any Western inputs to achieve a thriving, stable economy.

However, the resistance of Ukraine is still causing a downward economic trajectory for Russia.

Studies have shown that continuous dissociation of the international community might result in

inadequate investment opportunities to the extent that the government cannot entirely recover the

losses it incurred. Countries cannot intervene in the crisis since the ignorance of the Russian

leader would result in more catastrophes and economic damages across the globe. Russia has

managed to impact damage to other nations by controlling exports of their fuel outside their

borders. However, The United States and its allies are strongly opposing moves by Putin, and

since they cannot directly involve themselves in an active war, they have devised other strategies

to limit the chaos caused by Russia. These United allied countries have resulted in restrictions.
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Therefore, Russia's involvement with the global economy has been restricted. They have entirely

restricted any trading activities between themselves and Russia; the act is to make their leader

reconsider and possibly minimize the negative consequences his choices have already made.

Russia is on the blink of collapsing economically, and thus the only way they saw fit would be

war after war countries are left devastated. Even though war is terrible, countries require support

as they slowly recover after a war. That also is the strategy of Russia. Therefore, the

unprecedented turn of events can best be described as an act of desperation from Russia. Their

political leaders are entirely to blame for the acts since their irrational acts are responsible for

their government’s downward trajectory. The outcome of the war will still leave a harmful

impact on history and result in losses for not only Russia and Ukraine it also the global

community (Editorial Board, ANU)

In conclusion, it is evident that the Russian economy and current war with Ukraine result

from long unchecked forms of leadership. Russia has had a thriving economic trajectory through

its oil exports. The act of exporting has supported their nation consistently. However, bad

leadership and political policies resulted in a weaker economy. The pandemic exposed the fact

that Russia has grown weaker. Thus, they result in war with Ukraine in an attempt to redeem

themselves. This notion is that if Ukraine joined Russia as its territory, it would be easier for the

Soviet Union to stand alone from Western coercion. Therefore, the rise and fall of the Russian

economy and the political aspects best describe the current issue of the ongoing war. Moreover,

the people can also be blamed impartially since they were responsible for allowing such leaders

to control their governments as they saw fit. The acts of Russia are not justified by any means

since they do not regard any human life.

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Works cited

Current Issues in Russia, Russia and Central Asia: A new Silk Road or the Old Great Game.

(n.d)

Editorial Board, ANU. The economic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. East Asian

Forum. (2022, March 21).

Libman, Alexander. "Democracy, size of bureaucracy, and economic growth: evidence from

Russian regions." Empirical economics 43.3 (2012).

Mau, Vladimir. "Russian economic policy: Challenges of growth." Russian Journal of

Economics 4 (2018).

Mau, Vladimir, and Alexey Ulyukaev. "Global crisis and challenges for Russian economic

development." Russian Journal of Economics 1.1 (2015).

Semenov, Andrei. “Political Consequences of the Economic Crisis in Russia.” Kenan Institute.

(2021, March 9).