Russian Rating May Fall to Junk in Economic Crisis, Kudrin Says

Russia’s sovereign debt rating will tumble into junk territory next year as the country plunges into a “full-fledged economic crisis,” former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said.

Gross domestic product may contract by at least 2 percent in 2015, while inflation will accelerate to 12 percent to 15 percent, Kudrin told reporters in Moscow today. Russia failed to make changes to the economy during “quiet years” and now must face the current crisis unprepared, said Kudrin, who served as finance minister for more than a decade until 2011.