Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said that the total effect can be estimated at 0.5 percentage points of economic growth lost because of sanctions, while three percentage points were lost due to a decline in oil prices.
The dollar exchange rate to the ruble grew 1.40 rubles to 79 rubles, and the euro increased 1.34 rubles to hit 86.02 rubles on the wake of oil trading after sanctions were lifted from Iran, according to currency exchange market trading statistics.
According to Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia managed to hit new oil supply record in 2015 despite the pressure exerted on the country's oil and gas industry by Western sanctions.
Russia could suspend loans to foreign countries as the country's budget continues to be strained by economic recession, the Interfax news agency reported Monday, citing Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak.
The first launch of the rocket carrier from the new Vostochny Cosmodrome is possible in April, according to Russia’s construction company Spetsstroy Deputy Director Alexander Mordovets.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called for a thaw in relations with Russia, urging dialogue in order to resolve flaring violence in the Middle East.
Foreigners in Russia have advocated tolerance towards people with special needs for over two decades - their work continues to improve public understanding of the disabled.
Ernesto Preatoni, an Italian real estate developer and investment guru with projects stretching from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, says that there's no time like the present to invest in Russia.
The severe cold spell motivated a resident of the Russian Siberian city of Omsk to transform his Soviet-made car into an off-road vehicle, the French TV channel TF1 reported.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that both the West and Russia are interested in the resumption of such format of negotiations.