The World Bank called the risks for the Russian economy

The Russian economy is facing four real risks, David Knight, World Bank Chief Economist for Russia, told Vedomosti.

The first of these is the threat of a pandemic . According to Knight, in Russia it puts more pressure on the economy than in some other countries, one of the reasons is the low rate of vaccination. “This somehow slows down business activity and creates risks of introducing new restrictions in the future,” the economist said.

According to Knight, the World Bank considers the risk of an unexpected spike in inflation in 2022 quite high. While the central bank is taking steps to pay it back, it's difficult to talk about price control, Knight said. “The question of how long the abnormally high inflation will last remains open, moreover, new shocks to the economy cannot be ruled out,” he believes. The economist added that if this scenario is realized, the economy will come under pressure, as the Central Bank will be forced to tighten monetary policy and raise rates.

The third risk is associated with the possible introduction of international sanctions . According to Knight, the bank does not assess the likelihood of new restrictions or easing of existing ones, but "if new sanctions were introduced by large countries or blocks of countries, this would have a negative impact."