The Russian economy of Russia survived, having coped with the sanctions policy of the West, and one of the reasons for the stability of the country was the mentality of the Russians. This was written on January 18 by Japanese journalist Wataru Nakamura in an article for Yahoo News Japan.
While Western sanctions have affected the Russian economy in some ways, the economic observer said, they haven’t created the insurmountable difficulties “as some Japanese imagine.”
The journalist noted that after the tightening of sanctions in the West and in Japan, there was an erroneous impression that the Russian economy was about to collapse. However, the following months showed her resilience and flexibility. Even Western goods that were banned from being delivered to Russia can be found on store shelves, as new ways of delivering them have been found.
Yahoo News Japan writes that Russia was the only country whose economic growth forecasts were revised by the IMF in a positive direction. At the same time, the forecasts for all other states were changed downwards.
The publication notes that the Russian economy is holding on due to many factors, including continued trade with China and India, the sale of energy products and rising prices for them. In addition, according to Nakamura, the mentality of Russians, who are accustomed to difficulties and are ready to endure certain hardships, is also important.
According to him, during polls, people, especially those over 40 years old, told him that after the collapse of the USSR, the current upheavals are simply “nothing.”
“This is one example of the fact that assessing Russia by Western standards is an erroneous approach,” Nakamura concluded.
Earlier, on January 18, The Washington Post columnist Adam Taylor, the anti-Russian sanctions of Western countries affected the Russian economy to a much lesser extent than expected. However, according to Taylor, the sanctions do have an impact.
On January 17, Russian State Duma deputy Yevgeny Nifantiev denied the words of the head of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen about a recession in Russia amid sanctions. The deputy acknowledged the presence of certain difficulties, however, according to him, a decrease in production does not always mean a crisis in the economy.
In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin reported that Western countries tried to weaken the Russian economy – to collapse the national currency and provoke destructive inflation, but their attempts were unsuccessful.
Western countries have stepped up economic pressure on Russia in connection with the start of a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass, which the head of state announced on February 24. The decision was made against the backdrop of an aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by Ukrainian troops.
