The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia in June.
Photographer: Dmitri Lovetsky/AP
Exposing the Cracks at the Heart of Putin’s War Economy
The Russian economy is spluttering under the weight of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine just as Presidents Putin and Trump meet to talk peace
Growth in the Russian economy is stalling. Oil revenues have slumped. The budget deficit has widened to the largest in more than three decades. Inflation and interest rates remain painfully high. Behind the walls of the country’s banks, some insiders are sounding alarms about a looming debt crisis.
That’s the tense backdrop against which Russian President Vladimir Putin — who has sought to turn the country’s financial system into a war machine — travels to Alaska for Friday’s summit with his US counterpart Donald Trump. The two will discuss a settlement of the Ukraine conflict, begun by Putin in February 2022, but Trump has already chided his guest this week saying he should concentrate on repairing the Russian economy which “is not doing well right now.”