Earlier in the speech President Putin said: “GDP in 2022 has decreased by only 2.2% and I’ll remind you that in February or March they predicted a collapse of the Russian economy.”
That estimate of a 2.2% contraction in the economy measured by GDP in 2022 can be found in the latest report
from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
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The 2.2% contraction still makes it the worst-performing country on the IMF’s list, but the organisation confirms that it has contracted by less than expected, with the report saying that “Russian trade [is] continuing to be redirected from sanctioning to non-sanctioning countries”.
India and China have become the largest buyers of Russian oil, for example, as Western nations restrict purchases and impose sanctions.