A Jan. 21 article in Bloomberg reports that Russia’s economy has stubbornly resisted Western sanctions, and has continued to show record growth rates. They write that Russia’s December revenues were up 28% from one year earlier, and that 2024 as a whole was up 26% from the previous year. This still comes in above the 24% increase in expenses due to Russia’s high inflation and interest rates.
Most interestingly, non-oil and gas revenue increased the most. “The volume of non-oil and gas revenues in 2024 significantly exceeded estimates in the 2025-2027 budget law, including from the largest tax sources,” the Russian Finance Ministry said in a statement. Oil and gas revenues also went up by 26%.
It’s worth pointing out that the Biden Administration had imposed strict sanctions on Russia’s banking sector and energy sector in November last year. These figures prove that the West’s sanctions are not working to impede Russia in a meaningful way. Similarly, any idea that “decreasing oil prices” in the belief that this will collapse Russia’s war effort, as President Trump has recently demanded, is likely doomed to failure.