• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Pekka Sutela"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "russia",
  "programs": [
    "Russia and Eurasia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Caucasus",
    "Russia",
    "North America"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Economy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

Other

Russia's Response to the Global Financial Crisis

While Russia’s short-term economy will largely depend on oil prices and the country’s demographic challenges, its medium-to-long-term outlook will be influenced by the lessons that leaders take from the crisis, which will affect Russia’s economic structure and policies for many years to come.

Link Copied
By Pekka Sutela
Published on Jul 29, 2010
Program mobile hero image

Program

Russia and Eurasia

The Russia and Eurasia Program continues Carnegie’s long tradition of independent research on major political, societal, and security trends in and U.S. policy toward a region that has been upended by Russia’s war against Ukraine.  Leaders regularly turn to our work for clear-eyed, relevant analyses on the region to inform their policy decisions.

Learn More

While the timing and extent of the global financial crisis surprised many countries, Russia was generally prepared. Its macroeconomic management of the recession rightly earned accolades from several international organizations.

But Moscow’s industrial and social policy responses were not as praiseworthy, representing yet another victory of political tactics over economic strategy. Although Russia’s leaders saw the crisis as vindicating their past policies—including the reform strategies they devised from 2006–2008—most of the structural issues in Russia’s economy remain, with solutions likely delayed for several years. Russia’s fiscal decline— from an average of 7 percent annual growth before the crisis to a loss of 7.9 percent GDP in 2009—is the highest figure among G20 countries.

Russia’s economy in the near term will largely depend on oil prices and how Moscow handles the country’s demographic challenges. But the economy’s medium-to-long-term outlook will be influenced by the lessons that leaders take from the crisis, which will affect Russia’s economic structure and policies for many years to come.

About the Author

Pekka Sutela

Former Nonresident Senior Associate, Russia and Eurasia Program

Sutela was a nonresident senior associate in the Carnegie Endowment’s Russia and Eurasia Program, where his research focuses on the economies of Eurasia, especially Russia.

    Recent Work

  • Paper
    The Underachiever: Ukraine's Economy Since 1991

      Pekka Sutela

  • Article
    Russia’s Economic Prospects

      Pekka Sutela

Pekka Sutela
Former Nonresident Senior Associate, Russia and Eurasia Program
EconomyCaucasusRussiaNorth America

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    How Far Can Russian Arms Help Iran?

    Arms supplies from Russia to Iran will not only continue, but could grow significantly if Russia gets the opportunity.

      Nikita Smagin

  • Front of a damaged apartment building
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Is a Conflict-Ending Solution Even Possible in Ukraine?

    On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Carnegie experts discuss the war’s impacts and what might come next.

      • +1

      Eric Ciaramella, Aaron David Miller, Alexandra Prokopenko, …

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    The Kremlin Is Destroying Its Own System of Coerced Voting

    The use of technology to mobilize Russians to vote—a system tied to the relative material well-being of the electorate, its high dependence on the state, and a far-reaching system of digital control—is breaking down.

      Andrey Pertsev

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Can the Disparate Threads of Ukraine Peace Talks Be Woven Together?

    Putin is stalling, waiting for a breakthrough on the front lines or a grand bargain in which Trump will give him something more than Ukraine in exchange for concessions on Ukraine. And if that doesn’t happen, the conflict could be expanded beyond Ukraine.

      Alexander Baunov

  • Research
    Russia in Africa: Examining Moscow’s Influence and Its Limits

    As Moscow looks for opportunities to build inroads on the continent, governments in West and Southern Africa are identifying new ways to promote their goals—and facing new risks.

      • Nate Reynolds
      • +1

      Nate Reynolds, ed., Frances Z. Brown, ed., Frederic Wehrey, ed., …

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600Fax: 202 483 1840
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.