Is the United States Keeping the Russian Economy Afloat by Buying Russian Oil?

Former Global Chief Economist, JPMorgan Chase, Ph.D in Economist

Real GDP in Russia grew by +4.6% in 2021.  In light of the growing number of economic sanctions and the freezing of Foreign Exchange Reserves held by Russia’s Central Bank, the Russian economy could contract by as much as -40% on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis (SAAR) during the second quarter of 2022.  It is hard to believe that an economic coll…