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Banks Are Besting Oil for Russia, and It May Not Be a Good Thing

An employee carries a safety helmet through the snow at an illuminated petroleum refinery in Russia.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
Updated on

When it comes to Russia’s economy, diversified doesn’t always mean healthy.

After years of trying to become less reliant on oil and gas, Russia’s breakdown of third-quarter gross domestic product showed financial intermediation led growth with a gain of 5.1 percent from a year earlier, almost double its increase in the previous three months. Mining and quarrying added 2.3 percent, while manufacturing contracted. GDP rose an annual 1.8 percent in the period, according to the Federal Statistics Service.