Russia’s inflation rate stabilized in January at nearly 12% year-on-year after rising to a 20-year high in April following the first Western sanctions, the Rosstat statistics agency said on Friday, as quoted by AFP.

Thus, according to Rosstat published on Friday, price growth remains at a high level – 11.77%, with a very slight decrease compared to December (11.9%).

Prices, which had already risen in Russia due to the recovery from the Covid 19 pandemic and rising commodity prices, exploded in the second quarter of 2022 within weeks of the start of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.

In April, inflation even reached a record since 2002, rising for the year to 17.8%.

“Annual inflation will be between 5 and 7% in 2023, returning to 4% in 2024,” according to forecasts released Friday by Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in mid-January that price growth “may fall below the 4% target” by the second quarter of 2023.

He said on Thursday that Russia’s economy had weathered the worst of the sanctions and was expected to show moderate growth this year despite what he called efforts to undermine certain industries, Reuters reported.

“It was a surprise to many of those who tried and are trying to create problems for us how effectively we counter threats in the economy and in certain sectors of production,” Putin said in a televised address to officials.

“International institutions should recognize that Russia has not only withstood the expected shocks, but also that the Russian economy is expected to grow slightly this year,” the Russian leader added.

In his statement, Putin did not provide a specific forecast for Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP).

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