It is no secret that there is a significant difference in economic power and potential between the Russian Federation and the United States. Nevertheless, the unemployment rates of both countries are close. According to Kuranova (2021), “Russia’s unemployment rate came in at 5.8% in January 2021” (para. 1). In the United States, the unemployment rates were 6.3% for the same period (United States – Unemployment rate, 2021). It can be said that the unemployment situation is marginally better in Russia.
The official currency of the Russian Federation is the ruble. It is worth mentioning that the country’s currency dropped significantly after a series of Russia’s aggressive political actions in the mid-2010s. They are the annexation of Crimea, the start of a hybrid war in Ukraine, and the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal. Western countries have responded to these actions with targeted and sectoral sanctions. The Economy Forecast Agency reports that “…exchange rate equal to 73.8490 Rubles per 1 Dollar” (USD to RUB forecast 2021, 2022-2025, 2021, para. 1). According to official data, the country adheres to a floating exchange rate regime (Exchange rate regime of the Bank of Russia, 2020). It means that the value of the ruble is controlled by the market forces.
Despite the limiting factors, namely the sanctions, Russia feels stable in foreign trade. Its main trading partners are China, Germany, and the Netherlands (Russia’s leading trade partners 2020, by volume, 2021). Foreign investment plays a very insignificant role in Russia’s GDP (Russia: Foreign investment, 2021). Moreover, as of December 2020, “Russia Trade Balance recorded a surplus of 11.6 USD bn…” (Russia Trade Balance, 2021, para. 1). In 2019, the share of exports in the Russian Federation’s GDP was 28.31% (Russia: Exports, percent of GDP, 2021). Based on the available information, it can be said that although the current Russian economy experiences stability, sanctions and an undeveloped private sector will hinder the country’s development.
References
Exchange rate regime of the Bank of Russia. (2020). Bank of Russia. Web.
Kuranova, O. (2021). Russian Federation. Moody’s Analytics. Web.
Russia: Exports, percent of GDP. (2021). TheGlobalEconomy. Web.
Russia: Foreign investment. (2021). Santander Trade. Web.
Russia’s leading trade partners 2020, by volume. (2021). Statista. Web.
Russia Trade Balance. (2021). CEIC Data. Web.
United States – Unemployment rate. (2021). Moody’s Analytics. Web.
USD to RUB forecast 2021, 2022-2025. (2021). The Economy Forecast Agency. Web.