Russia closed 2013 with a growth rate of 1,5%, less than half of that achieved in the previous year (+3,4%) and about a third of that of the two-year period 2010-11 (+4,4, 2014%). A recovery is expected in XNUMX but the most recent economic references are not encouraging.
The production and export of energy products remain the cornerstone of the Russian economy. Worldwide, Russia is the second producer of natural gas, the third of oil, the sixth for coal.
The recent weakening of economic momentum is largely structural in nature. The modest growth of a modern industrial entrepreneurial class has translated into a weak flow of private investments: in fact, quantitatively and qualitatively, the industrial apparatus in operation is almost entirely that inherited from the Soviet period. The growth in domestic demand is saturating production capacity with evident effects on the external accounts. Compared to 2011, the current account surplus is almost halved. In the meantime, the flight of capital abroad continues.
The Russian banking system appears solid but is affected, often visibly, by the contradictory phase of evolution of the entire economic system. Between December 2010 and August 2012, nine foreign banking groups announced or completed their withdrawals. If on the one hand these withdrawals signal the difficulty for a foreign financial institution to operate successfully in this market, on the other hand it should be noted that the foreign presence remains authoritative (in the ranking by size, 3 of the first 10 groups are foreigners and 5 of the top 20).
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