There are storms, and there are ‘perfect storms.’ Just days after negotiations between Russia, the US and Saudi Arabia led to a deal on crude output, there are clear signs of more turbulent seas ahead.
According to Russian economists, the financial damage caused by measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic could amount to 17.9 trillion rubles ($242 billion). Meanwhile, 15.5 million people may find themselves out of work, from a total labor force of around 72 million. Such a figure would be astonishing in modern Russia, which has registered consistently low unemployment under the Putin and Medvedev presidencies. The jobless rate stood at only 4.2 percent in February.
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