In this interview, the Moscow State University instructor says:

• “The problem today is the very concentrated involvement of Russian enterprises in global chains. Either you are exporters or manufacturers of processing products and you get a lot from imports—parts, equipment, components. Exports to Europe have been closed, and it is impossible to redirect these gigantic flows to Asia. … I feel sorry for the most advanced regions, which are maximally included in the global value chains. Today they pay for their activity and sink the most.”
• “Let’s compare April 2022 with March 2022. ... Industry—minus 8.5%, extractive industry—minus 10%, processing—minus 6%. … Technical degradation awaits us. Each city will have its own problem ... Russia will break up into such problematic cities. … Representatives of one enterprise told me that they were looking for drawings of Soviet cars.”
• “Now let's look at the service sector, April 2022 to April 2021. Trade minus 10% in real terms, wholesale minus 12%, non-food trade minus 17% … a contraction of effective demand.”
• “The food industry, the agricultural sector will be able to develop (if it is not crushed by quotas and export duties: the authorities actively use them so that prices within the country do not grow). Domestic tourism … this is a matter of income and price tag, which will be rolled out by tourism workers.”
• “[W]here this road may lead further in the coming years, I don’t know: it’s not the economy that makes decisions, politics drive the economy. And I can’t say anything about that—I don’t have the qualifications of a doctor of a certain specialty.”

Full article in Russian at Reforum.

This item is part of Russia Matters’ “Clues from Russian Views” series, in which we share what newsmakers in/from Russia are saying on Russia-related issues that impact key U.S. national interests so that RM readers can glean clues about their thinking.

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