Big Picture, Economy, Sprout money

2015 promises to become a tough year for Russia. It is almost certain that the country will have to deal with a recession and the question is whether the ruble will be able to catch a break throughout the year. The currency has crashed dramatically as we all know.

2014 was a disaster for Russia according to many analysts. While Putin looked like a strong leader at the start of the year, the situation looks completely different now. Global economic sanctions and the low oil price are cutting deep; the Russian economy is on the ropes.

2014 Was A Disaster For Russia

Next to that the financial markets and the ruble took a beating. Moscow is trying to artificially compensate but, after another dramatic start, the Russian government is throwing measures at the problem to see what sticks. It needs to stop the free fall of the ruble and save the stock market.

Things started to look better when the Russian central bank injected American dollars into the market and raised interest rates up high for the sixth time this year. The ruble recovered by 10% last week on one day, while the market won back 14%; this is nothing compared to the gaping hole though.

At first sight Russia is in deep, but on a recent press conference Putin talked about the fact that his country is strong enough to deal with these challenges. Although that still needs to be proven, some analysts are taking his words seriously and are advising their clients to pick up Russian stocks.