Russia reeling from triple whammy

London

RUSSIA has been slammed by a triple whammy of oil price collapse, sanctions and a run on the rouble.

It is hardly surprising that the Russian Economy Ministry forecasts recession next year, the first since 2009. To be sure, its estimate that gross domestic product (GDP) will shrink by 0.8 per cent in 2015 may well prove to be over optimistic, unless President Vladimir Putin negotiates an end to US and EU sanctions as soon as possible. Illustrating the rose tinted spectacles of the Putin regime, the ministry had previously predicted that the economy would grow by 1.2 per cent in 2015, compared with an already blue sky estimate of 0.5 per cent growth this year.