The War Has Driven russia to Record Lows Across the Board

The war against Ukraine has turned russia’s economic life into a never-ending marathon of negative records. Gold reserves have fallen to 73.2 million troy ounces – the worst figure in the past six years. Since the beginning of the year alone, russia has lost about 50 tons of gold, and the value of its “gold shield” has shrunk by $33.7 billion. The World Gold Council has not recorded such a depletion of reserves since 2002.

Moreover, russian companies listed on the moscow exchange risk to completely fail to pay dividends for last year. Payouts will be meager due to the  central bank’s high  interest rates, economic stagnation, and war-related losses.

The oil and gas sector is also setting new “records”. Average daily oil refining in July fell to 3.6 million barrels, which is roughly one-third below the usual seasonal norm – the lowest level since 2002. Experts predict new record lows for russian refineries as early as the coming months.

Seaborne exports of russian crude oil, in turn, have fallen to 3.71 million barrels per day in recent weeks – the lowest level since late May.

The demographic “negative achievement” is confirmed by the fact that the birth rate is currently at its lowest level in 35 years. The fertility rate in russian villages has fallen to 1.361 – a historic low since 1990.

Among the technical setbacks is the slump in iPhone sales. In the first half of the year, only 460,000 Apple smartphones were sold in russia (a drop of 60,000 year-on-year). This is the lowest figure since 2022. russians lack the money for new technologies due to impoverishment and isolation. This, by the way, is also confirmed by the record collapse of the tourism sector. The number of foreign visitors dropped by nearly 20%, marking the worst five-year result on record.

All these indicators from different  sectors paint a single, clear picture: russia’s attempt to seize foreign lands has cost it the irreversible loss of its own financial, demographic, and technological stability, leaving the country with empty coffers and general decline.