Europe | Fortress Russia

Russia’s economy is isolated from the global rout

For now

|MOSCOW

VLADIMIR PUTIN is no doubt feeling smug. The Russian economy ought to be in crisis, but it is not. Covid-19 is causing a global meltdown. The price of oil has slumped below $30 a barrel, half what it was two months ago. Oil and gas traditionally account for two-thirds of Russian exports. That has sent the rouble sliding. The currency has lost nearly a third of its value since early January.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Isolationomics”

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From the March 28th 2020 edition

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