Russians urged not to wait for economic growth

The Russian economy continues to shrink amid government inaction, so we shouldn’t expect it to grow in 2026. First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy Nikolai Arefiev told RTVI.

In the coming year, there may be an economic recession, since the last one left “a rather bad legacy,” Arefiev explained. He noted that officially inflation in Russia reached 6%, but there was no economic growth.

“There are no final data for the year yet, but half a percent is not growth, this is clearly a stretch,” emphasized the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy.

Because of such results for 2025, he said, inflation will continue to rise in the coming year, because “we can say there is no own production in Russia.”

In addition, despite the reduction in the key rate from 21% to 16% over the year, it still remains high, Arefiev noted. He explained that because of this, enterprises cannot take out loans, so they are deprived of working capital and essentially take a “time out.”

“[For 2025], business closures are twice as high as business openings. This suggests that our industrial production potential and economy are shrinking. And since it is declining, there is no reason to expect any powerful growth,” the parliamentarian stated.

Nothing changes in Russia’s foreign economic relations - Western countries not only do not lift sanctions, but also tighten them, which negatively affects the country’s economy, Arefiev added.

Due to the fact that there are not enough enterprises in Russia to produce its own products, the country is heavily dependent on imports, emphasized the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy.

Also, Russia, although it has reduced its dependence on oil and gas, has become hooked on the “raw materials needle,” Arefiev expressed his opinion. According to him, almost all raw materials - metals, ores, coal - are sold.

In addition, as the parliamentarian said, the country has also become addicted to the “gold needle”: in Russia, according to him, “there is colossal speculation in gold bullion,” but there are no ways to regulate it.