Russia's Downfall: The Worst Economic Crisis since the Collapse of the Ussr

This working paper looks at the recent trends in the Russian economy and argues against the official view of the Russian authorities that the worst phase of the Russian economic crisis is over. The paper highlights the main driving factor behind the current crisis, the sharp decline of domestic consumption, unprecedented in the past 20 years, and argues that Western sanctions have had a great role to play in these developments.