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  • 2 years ago
When Russia first invaded Ukraine nearly two years ago to the day, the world responded with some of the heaviest economic sanctions in history. Now, according to a London based think tank Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, Russians might finally start to begin to feel that economic downturn. Veuer’s Tony Spitz has the details.

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00:00 When Russia first invaded Ukraine nearly two years ago to the day, the world responded.
00:05 Most Western allies sanctioned the country, refusing to buy their most important export,
00:09 namely crude oil and natural gas. Now, according to a London-based think tank,
00:14 the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, Russians might finally begin to feel an
00:19 economic downturn. They note that Putin's country has been surprisingly resilient against these
00:24 sanctions. However, Russia is also trying to hide just how badly they have been affected.
00:28 According to the US chair of the think tank, Mark Sobel, quote, "Russia is masking a process of
00:33 significant economic degradation that will continue well into the future and further
00:38 marginalize its global footprint." They point to Moscow's intense military spending as one of the
00:43 key drivers that continues to keep them afloat. What's more, their share of global purchasing
00:48 power is down significantly as well, half of what it was pre-2008 financial crisis.
00:53 Russian crude oil is also trading $15 below its Western counterpart, with more than half of all
00:59 of Russia's oil tankers sitting unused at the moment. Sobel adds that while the Russian economy
01:03 might look resilient at the moment, that resilience is short-sighted, explaining, "significantly
01:08 greater isolation and economic degradation is baked into the cake for the Russian economy and people."
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