Summary
Russian businesses are facing severe financial stress as the Central Bank of Russia’s interest rate hits 21%, with further hikes expected.
High borrowing costs, especially for companies with floating-rate loans, have pushed many towards a debt crisis, with interest payments consuming up to 75% of earnings.
Rising corporate bankruptcies, late payments, and stalled investments signal deepening economic distress. Key industries, including retail, real estate, and manufacturing, are especially vulnerable.
The situation is expected to worsen as the economy cools and interest rates remain high, potentially triggering a financial crisis.
Stopping now would make it worse actually. Russia has retooled for wartime production and is currently running massive government deficit spending for war goods, which is why inflation and interest rates are so high… if they were to back down, their interest rates would drop, but the bottom falling out of government spending would really crash things because almost every private enterprise is catering to those needs. Putin can’t stop now or his country riots in breadlines.
The good old Nazi Germany plan - get your rich cronies to pay for everything and assure everyone that the spoils of war will more than pay them back.