Russia’s economic slowdown bites harder

Hello! Welcome to your weekly guide to the Russian economy, written by Alexandra Prokopenko and Alexander Kolyandr and brought to you by The Bell.  This week, we analyze how Russia’s economic slowdown is hitting harder, with worse still on the horizon, and look at Russia selling off its gold reserves.

The slowdown accelerates

Russia’s economy continues to cool. In Q3, GDP growth dipped to 0.6% and in Q4 could drop into negative territory. Even defense manufacturing failed to grow, probably because it is at the limit of its physical capacity. In 2026, the economy could move into long-term stagnation.

Industrial growth stalls

After growth of 1.4% and 1.1% in the first two quarters of the year, the economy slowed to just 0.6% in the third quarter, according to official figures from Rosstat. That was slightly higher than the typically pessimistic Central Bank forecast of 0.4% issued a week ago.

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