Overview
- Vladimir Putin said GDP fell a combined 1.8% in January and February and pressed top aides for explanations during a televised economic meeting.
- The Kremlin reported a first‑quarter budget shortfall of about $58.6 billion after March oil tax receipts dropped by roughly half from a year earlier.
- Central bank chief Elvira Nabiullina said unemployment sits at a record 2%, noting acute labor shortages that push up prices and keep interest rates high.
- Sweden’s military intelligence chief told the Financial Times that Moscow is masking a larger deficit by about $30 billion and risks a slide toward “financial disaster,” echoing domestic warnings of a possible banking crisis if loan troubles deepen.
- Higher oil prices and eased U.S. limits on Russian crude offer only partial relief because Ukrainian drone strikes on export hubs have curbed sales and tax intake, leaving companies and households facing tighter credit and rising payment strains.