REUTERS
According to Federal State Statistics Service Rosstat, the first quarter in Russia ended with a fall in all of the main economic indicators, from real wages and income, retail and services, and figures for investment, construction, and industry, Russian newspaper Vedomosti has reported.
"Everything is going in the trajectory of the recession, which is deepening," Volodymyr Tikhomirov from the financial group BCS told the newspaper.
The economic problems in Russia deepened sharply when the West imposed sanctions following Moscow’s invasion and annexation of the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, and due to its sending troops, weapons and supplies to fuel anti-government militants in the east of Ukraine.
Falling oil prices added to the problems, causing the ruble to drop sharply.
Based on Bloomberg consensus forecast, in Q1 the Russian economy is projected to shrink by 2.9% compared to the same period of 2014, reverting to the level of three years ago. This will be the first quarter of year-on-year decline since 2009.