The Russian economy has experienced less recession compared to most of the world’s largest economies amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Bloomberg reports.
According to the agency, the reason lies in the decision of the Russian government not to introduce a lockdown in the country in the second half of the year. It is noted that in 2020, the gross domestic product in Russia decreased by 3.1 percent. This is significantly less than economists expected.
The authors of the material emphasized that the country’s economy suffered the most in the first half of the year, when tough restrictive measures were introduced in Russia, as well as when the demand for oil fell sharply in the world.
The agency emphasizes that the contraction of the Russian economy in 2020 will be half as much as in the eurozone, where the fall may be 7.3 percent. Moreover, this year the country is predicted to have a fairly high economic growth – three percent.
Earlier it was reported that the coronavirus pandemic was the most powerful blow to the federal budget of Russia since the beginning of the century. The effect of the pandemic has exceeded the effect of the 2008-2009 and 2014 crises. In the current crisis, the authorities are faced with a 7 percent decrease in budget revenues compared to 2019, while spending in nominal terms increased by 25 percent, and in real terms by 21 percent. In particular, spending on health care almost doubled, spending on social support for the population – by 43 percent, and spending on regions – by 39 percent.