DISINFO: Russia has only grown stronger in the last few years
SUMMARY
The Russian Federation is one of the countries that strengthened the most in the last years, advancing in this balance of power that is taking place in the new multipolar world under the specific leadership of Vladimir Putin.
RESPONSE
The claim is demonstrably false, as Russia has weakened in the last years. This disinformation story is part of what some experts have labelled Russia’s economic war propaganda, aimed at convincing the world of the futility of the sanctions imposed on Russia for its aggression against Ukraine and the need to remove them. By portraying Russia’s economic situation as positive and directly linking it to decisions adopted by Vladimir Putin, this disinformation story also aims to promote Russia’s authoritarian system and its top figures.
Actual data shows a very different picture (see here and here for two well-researched summaries of the economic situation of Russia at the end of 2024). For example, the Russian ruble has been in a downward trend for over a decade and plummeted in the last quarter of 2024, reaching a record low. The liquidity of Russia's National Wealth Fund (NWF) more than halved between 2022 and 2024 with no improvement in sight for 2025. While Russia’s oil and gas revenues grew in 2022, they fell again in 2023 and are expected to fall even further in coming years.
There is mounting evidence of Russia’s economic troubles, such as overheating and likely upcoming stagflation. Record unemployment rates of around 2% are actually a sign of enormous labour shortages. Russia’s Central Bank was forced to raise its main interest rate to 21%, the highest in decades. Both elements combined are taking a serious toll on Russian businesses. Russia’s military budget has tripled since 2021, being now more than double than expenditure on social services, and which along with security agencies will account now for 40% of the total state budget. Military production is struggling to replace what is being massively destroyed on the battlefield. Food prices are skyrocketing, and while consumer inflation is officially at 8,5%, many analysts think the real figure is much higher. According to some data, inflation since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 reached 70% in 2024.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Putin has shown Russia’s economic supremacy to the world, that many Germans would like to move to Russia due to economic reasons, that instead of crushing Russia, sanctions led to US debt and Europe’s freezing, that Russia became the World's 4th economic power thanks to the war in Ukraine, that Russia’s economy is massively outperforming that of the collective West, or that the Russian economy thrives despite EU sanctions.