[Salon] Ever Predicted, Never Happening: Russia's Collapse

[Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com>]

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/03/ever-predicted-never-happening-russias-collapse.html

Ever Predicted, Never Happening: Russia's Collapse

March 18, 2025

Badmouthing Russia's economy has a certain tradition:

• Russia's Collapse - Foreign Affairs, Sep 1, 1999
• Russia Is Finished - The Atlantic, May 2001
• The Russian Economic Crisis - CFR, Apr 2010

Since the start of the Special Military operation in Ukraine many outlets joined the above doomsayers of the foreign policy blob.

Since then most reports about Russia's economy predicted a collapse or at least severe difficulties. Here are some from just the previous six months:

• Russia's economy is signaling a fate worse than recession - Business Insider, Sep 26 2024
• Humiliation for Putin as Russia could plunge into 'economic collapse' to plug £30bn debt - Express, Oct 7 2024
• Putin's Economy Approaches 'Burnout Point' - Newsweek, Oct 8 2024
• Russia’s economy is overheating but Putin cannot change course - Atlantic Council, Oct 31, 2024
• Russia’s War Economy Is Hitting Its Limits - Foreign Policy, Nov 14 2024
• Russia’s economy is doomed - New Statesman, Nov 28 2024
• Russian rouble collapse exposes deep problems in the country’s economy - The Conservation, Dec 3 2024
• The Russian Economy Remains Putin’s Greatest Weakness - Foreign Affairs, Dec 9, 2024
• Russia’s war economy spirals out of control as 2025 brings looming stagnation - NZZ, Jan 7 2025
• Is 2025 the year that Russia’s economy finally freezes up under sanctions? - Atlantic Council, Jan 8 2025
• Russia’s war economy is a house of cards (archived) - Financial Times, Jan 13 2025
• Putin's war economy is running on fumes as inflation and shortages surge - Kyiv Independent, Jan 15 2025
• Don’t Blink Now, Trump. Russia’s Economy Is Cracking. - Bloomberg, Feb 10 2025
• Russia’s economy is stagnating – but that won’t force it to end the war - The Conservation, Mar 10 2025
• The Russian economy is on the brink of collapse and Putin knows it - Independent, Mar 13 2025
• Russia’s economy would struggle to cope with peace - Reuters, Mar 17 2025

Meanwhile the Russian economy is doing well. Its economy is growing faster than most other.

• Russia to grow faster than all advanced economies says IMF - BBC, Apr 16 2024
• IMF raises forecast for growth in Russia's GDP by 0.1 pp in 2025 - Interfax, Jan 17 2025

The lesson from this? Much of what one reads in mainstream media about Russia (and other so called enemies) is garbage.

Posted by b on March 18, 2025 at 16:00 UTC | Permalink