Putin touted the Russian economy's successes despite the first drop in GDP in three years
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has claimed that the Russian economy has made some progress, despite the fact that in the first quarter of 2026, Russian GDP contracted for the first time since early 2023—by 0.3% on an annualized basis. At the same time, the Russian government has downgraded its economic forecast and now expects the economy to grow by only 0.4% for the year.
This is reported by Russian Telegram channels.
“The measures and decisions recently implemented by the government have begun to yield… certain results,” Putin stated at a meeting on economic issues.
He did not specify exactly which measures he was referring to, but cited March figures announced by Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov. According to Putin, GDP grew by 1.8% in March, consumer activity accelerated, retail trade increased by 6.2%, wholesale trade by 8%, industrial production by 2.3%, and manufacturing by 3%. He also called for consolidating this growth.
However, the final quarterly figures turned out to be significantly weaker. According to data from the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, GDP in the first quarter contracted by 0.3%, retail trade grew by only 3.6%, wholesale trade fell by 0.5%, industrial production rose by 0.3%, and manufacturing output declined by 0.7%.
The March results, which Reshetnikov used to convince Putin that the situation was stabilizing, were preceded by a slump in the first two months of the year. In the spring, Putin twice expressed dissatisfaction with the weak economic indicators and demanded explanations from the government and the Central Bank as to why the Russian economy in 2026 is performing worse not only than experts’ forecasts but also than the authorities’ official expectations.
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Ukraine is ready for dialogue with Russia provided Moscow is genuinely committed to serious talks, but such meetings require careful preparation. Any direct contacts between the leaders of the warring states do not occur spontaneously or via ordinary telephone communication.
