Stop the Untouchables. Justice for Sergei Magnitsky.

Russia’s Economic Prospects

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Russia’s economy grew by close to 4 percent in 2010. Compared with developed economies, this was a robust achievement, given the uncertainties faced by the global economy and the continuing debt crises in some small European economies. These economies could still endanger the stability of the European economy more widely, and thus cast a shadow on the prospects of Russia’s major trading partner.

Still, Russia’s growth was about 1 percentage point lower than was generally expected a year ago. Inflation was slightly higher. These differences can be explained largely by the extreme summer weather and numerous forest fires that plagued the country. As a result, Russia’s grain harvest was about 25 percent below the recent average. While Russia has emerged as a major exporter of grain—especially of feed wheat—in past years, it banned grain exports last August; the ban remains in effect until this summer.