It does not seem to excite Russians terribly much, and it is hardly noticed in the U.S. and Europe, but Russia's GDP just dropped 10.9 percent in the second quarter. That comes after a 9.8 percent drop in the first quarter. This is grim.
The go-go economies of Moscow and St. Petersburg also seem to be deteriorating. Restaurants see a 20 percent drop in business. Can the madcap nightclub life of Moscow be far behind?
President Medvedev is calling for investigation of state-owned enterprises, thought to be hubs of inefficiency, waste and corruption. A new restructuring may be in order in the long run. In the short term, should we expect firings?
Regardless, Russia seems to be suffering a recession that may be wider and deeper than that which afflicts America. It also may last longer.
The GDP figures may mean a lot less than they seem. Singapore announced a GDP rise of 21% for the last quarter but I don't see evidence of a seismic change when I look around me.
These figures aren't really that startling since they largely matched the estimates economics have been making for the past few months anyways.
The GDP is actually on its way back up as of July and most likely August. The most recent figures for services, manufacturing and industrial output confirm this, not to mention unemployment and oil prices.
America's recession is something completely different. Their entire consumption/debt based system is collapsing before our eyes, and this weak "recovery" (with unemployment still rising no less) is an illusion brought on by inflationary stimulus policies that are going to end up doing more damage in the end. In two years when most of the rest of the world has recovered, America is still going to be struggling to get back on its feet.