Analysis of the 2015 Basic Balance of Payments and the Russian Economy

Abstract

The article deals with Russia’s Balance of payments, which in monetary terms shows the state of international economic exchange between residents of the country and the outside world. A detailed analysis of the basic balance of payments in the context of the current state of the Russian economy is provided. The article analyzes the following specific items of the balance of payments: “Current Account”, which reflects the international flows of goods and services; “Direct investments”; “Suspicious Transactions”, which shows the volume of cross-border transactions, and others. The analysis of the 2015 Balance of payments items has been held on the basis of comparative characteristics of these items with the Balance of payments of previous years. According to the findings of the analysis, the economy is shrinking, becoming more closed and self-contained. As a result, it tends to be uncompetitive in industrial output, and finds itself on the periphery of the world economy, cut off from the financial markets.