Threats of a recession are hardly new. With the Covid-19 pandemic dominating the economic policies of the world for the better part of two years, a global economic slowdown was always on the charts. However, the damage caused by the pandemic could have been averted, had the global supply chains been replenished on time. That does not seem to have happened. Having said that, threats of an all-out recession were still low. Now, though, the devastating effects of the war in Ukraine are beginning to weigh in on leading economies around the world. Energy prices have skyrocketed, and inflation rates have seemingly spiralled beyond the control of governments. For developing and poor nations, the risk of a food security crisis is also on the horizon.
Then, there are over 8,000 sanctions ruining the West more than they seem to be hurting Russia. Sanctions are not new to Russia. After its annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia under Vladimir Putin made a concerted effort to make its economy self-reliant and independent of the West. The war in Ukraine too was hardly a sudden event. It has been building up for years, and was given the go-ahead only after Putin was convinced that his country could weather the onslaught of an economic war that would subsequently be waged against Russia.
Take this for instance: The International Monetary Fund’s ‘World Economic Outlook’ report recently found that Russia’s economy is holding up better than expected despite being hit by a mountain of…
