New problems for the Russian Federation on the economic front

What is important to understand is that last month, exporters exported goods worth $31.3 billion.

Against this background, their revenue fell by 19% year-on-year.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation reports that of this amount, $25.7 billion left the country to pay for imports.

According to economists, if we take into account exports and imports of services, the Russian economy earned only $2 billion in trade surplus in December 2024 — in fact, it is negligible.

The reason for the deterioration in foreign trade at the end of the year could be the effect of sanctions imposed at the end of November against the Russian banking sector, which affected payments and, apparently, slowed down export flows.

Biden's latest sanctions blow against Russia turned out to be the most powerful

On January 10, 2025, the administration of former US President Joe Biden officially announced the introduction of the largest ever package of sanctions against the Russian energy sector.

The former White House chief of staff aimed to significantly weaken dictator Vladimir Putin's ability to finance the war against Ukraine by reducing revenues from oil exports.

According to analysts, the new restrictions are truly shocking in their scale and potential effect.

Sanctions have been imposed on more than 400 legal entities and individuals, including key oil and gas giants Gazpromneft and Surgutneftegaz, dozens of oil service companies, shipping giant Sovcomflot and their subsidiaries, as well as insurance companies that service oil transportation.