Russian economy grows at slower pace

Russia's economic bounceback slowed in the third quarter with GDP growth of 1.8 percent, according to figures published by government statistics agency Rosstat. Rosstat's data is lower than the estimate of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, which said last month GDP grew by 2.2 percent between July and September. In the second quarter of 2017, Rosstat put GDP growth at 2.5 percent.
The Russian economy is continuing its recovery from a two-year recession that ended in late 2016. With five months to go until Russia's presidential election, in which Vladimir Putin is expected to win a fourth term, the figures may fan concerns that growth will falter unless there are structural reforms to reduce the country's dependence on oil and gas exports. A crash in oil prices in 2014, along with international sanctions imposed over Moscow's actions in Ukraine, helped push Russia into its longest recession since Vladimir Putin came to power at the end of 1999.