Page 47 - RusRPTSept23

has grown considerably. Manufacturing output in May-June was up by about 8% from the same period two years ago.
The rise in manufacturing has been driven by those industrial branches that benefit from higher military spending such as metal products, electronics, electrical machinery & equipment, and manufacture of vehicles other than automobiles. During the first six months of this year almost three quarters of the over 6% y/y growth in manufacturing came from these four branches.
Growth in construction activity plateaued in June, but construction was still up 10% y/y thanks to steady growth for over a year. The on-year volume of goods transport fell due to decreased pipeline transmission of oil & gas. Rail transport increased only slightly. In contrast, growth in road transport remained rapid as in 2022. Passenger ridership on public transport, which already grew last year, was up further this year for both bus and especially rail transport.
The recovery in private consumption from the spring 2022 slump has continued. In the second quarter of this year, household spending on purchases of goods and services, as well as retail sales, were up 9−10% y/y in real terms from last year’s downturn and roughly at the same level as in spring 2021. Real household incomes continued to rise and were up a few% from two years earlier. The rise in real wages accelerated.
Russia has finally overcome the economic downturn caused by Western sanctions and can now take steps to rapidly develop its economy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on August 3.
Speaking at a youth forum in the Moscow region, Peskov noted that according to all forecasts, Russia should have "fallen into an abyss both economically and socially" after the sanctions were imposed. But that failed to happen, he said.
"We have emerged from the crisis, and our prospects for rapid development are good by today's standards. This is a unique situation. You will study how this was possible and where our country, our people found such strength," he told the forum participants..
A week earlier, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia’s GDP growth was expected to reach more than 2% this year, and that the growth would fully cover the economic decline the country saw in 2022. He warned however, that Western sanctions could still have a negative impact in the medium term.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in April that Western countries, and particularly the European Union, had exhausted their options for sanctions that could hurt Russia.
RUSSIA Country Report September 2023 www.intellinews.com