Russia Declares Worst Is Over as Economy Adapts to Sanctions

The worst is over for Russia’s economy after a tailspin in oil prices and sanctions over Ukraine sparked the biggest currency crisis since 1998, putting the nation on the brink of its first recession in six years, according to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.

“The negative peak is behind us and instead we are seeing certain signs of stabilization,” Siluanov said in Moscow Thursday at a conference organized by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the nation’s big-business lobby. “The situation in the financial sector is also stabilizing. We see rising returns on debt markets, and the financial market is showing momentum toward growth.”