Ashish Ranjan
Russia will run out of money: Russia’s treasury may run exhausted within a year, necessitating foreign investment, oligarch Oleg Deripaska stated at a Siberian economic conference on Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously lauded the resilience of the nation’s economy in the face of unprecedented Western sanctions imposed the previous year.
In light of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he stated, as reported by TASS, a Russian state-run news agency, that “next year there will be no money, and we require foreign investors.” In 2022, at the beginning of the conflict, the Russian oligarch demanded an end to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Deripaska stated that foreign investors, notably those from “friendly” nations, also play a significant role. He was quoted as saying that attracting foreign investments will depend on Russia’s ability to create favourable conditions and attractive markets.
In an effort to deprive the Kremlin of resources for its aggression, Western nations have imposed more than 11,300 sanctions and sequestered approximately $300 billion of Russia’s foreign reserves since the invasion in February 2022.
However, China has provided a financial reprieve to the Russian government by purchasing its energy, replacing Western suppliers of products such as machinery and base metals. However, Moscow has a long way to go before it can recover the money lost from exports and other income sources as a result of the sanctions.
This month, Russia will reduce oil production, and Western sanctions may be tightened further. Oleg Deripaska noted that Russia’s economic prospects are ultimately determined by events in Ukraine.According to government documents, Russia’s economic output declined by 2.1% in 2017. In January, the country’s revenue decreased 35% compared to the previous year, while its expenditures increased 59%. This resulted in a deficit of approximately $23.3 billion.
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According to data released on Friday, the value of European Union imports from Russia decreased by 51% between February and December of last year. Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union was one of Russia’s most important commercial partners, accounting for 38 percent of its exports in 2020.
