Russia’s official statistics agency is displaying a feverish optimism under its new boss, Pavel Malkov, who took office in December. On Feb. 4, the agency reported that in 2018, the country’s economy grew the fastest since 2012. Coming on top of a recent data revision that eliminated the 2016 recession, the recent numbers seem increasingly fishy, including to some government economists.
OP-ED
Leonid Bershidsky: Russia’s economic growth looks too good to be true
A Russian Ruble pictured in front of the Kremlin in central Moscow on Nov. 6, 2014.
