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Sergey Drobyshevsky, Principal Researcher at the Gaidar Institute, shared his vision on the forthcoming decision by the Bank of Russia on key rate with the Expert publication. He believes that regulator is in a difficult situation, balancing between the need to contain inflation risks and the expectations of the market, which has long been accustomed to high interest rates.

Alexander Firanchuk, Senior Researcher of the International Trade Department, commented current situation in the raw materials export from Russia to radio station Govorit Moskva. He believes that situation remain stable and the country is successfully overcoming the consequences of the sanctions pressure.

Anton Beloglazov, Head of Evidence-Based Economics Department at the Gaidar Institute, commented for Nezavisimaya Gazeta on the current situation in the construction industry.

There is a significant gap in the Russian labor market between job seekers’ expectations and employers’ offers, which is especially acute among older workers and college graduates. As Lyubov Filin, Head of Evidence-Based Regulatory Practice Department at the Gaidar Institute, noted in a comment for Nezavisimaya Gazeta, a so-called wage boom was not universal.

Central Bank analysts believe that the Russian economy returned to growth in Q2 avoiding a technical recession. However, Evgeny Goryunov, Head the Monetary Policy Department at the Gaidar Institute, suggested in a commentary for RBC that the GDP dynamics for Q2 will be close to zero, in the range of minus 0.2 to +0.2% q/q SA, that is, the economy continues to balance on the brink of stagnation. At the same time, the expert believes that easing the monetary policy will help avoid a recession, and by the end of the year, growth will be from 1 to 1.5%.

Anton Beloglazov, Head of Evidence-Based Economics Department at the Gaidar Institute, in a commentary for Izvestia, suggested that the adoption of the law on credit holidays for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will allow companies to get a temporary respite and stabilize their activities in the context of economic volatility.

Despite the disconnection of Russian banks from the SWIFT system, interaction through alternative payment systems remains possible. This opinion was expressed for TASS by Olga Ponomareva, expert at the Economic Policy Foundation, commenting on the 18th package of EU sanctions against Russia.

The transfer of payments for Russian coal into national currencies and state subsidies for transportation can become the main factors in restoring demand for this type of fuel in Asian markets in the coming years, Antonina Levashenko, Head of the International Best Practices Analysis Department at the Gaidar Institute, told Prime.

The market is quietly reacting to new restrictions — the 18th package of sanctions against Russia, which, in particular, reduced the price ceiling for Russian oil from $60 to $47.6 per barrel. Dmitry Kuznetsov, Researcher at the International Trade Department, and Olga Ponomaryova, Expert at the Economic Policy Foundation, commented for TASS that the effectiveness of such a measure is insignificant.

Disruptions in coal supplies from Australia due to rains allow Russia to temporarily stabilize demand for coal in Asia. Antonina Levashenko, Head of the International Best Practices Analysis Department at the Gaidar Institute, told “Prime”.

TASS has published the opinion of Sergey Drobyshevsky, Principal Researcher at the Gaidar Institute, that the French national assembly may block the plans of the republic’s President Emmanuel Macron to raise military spending by 2027.

Lyubov Filin, Head of the Evidence-Based Regulatory Practice Department at the Gaidar Institute, appeared on the show "Day. Main" on RBC, where she discussed important aspects of self-employment and gray economy in Russia.

Lyubov Filin, Head of the Gaidar Institute’s Evidence-based Regulatory Practice Department, assessed the current situation in the courier services market in a commentary for Nezavisimaya Gazeta. She noted that the decline in the number of employed couriers is due to the general complication of the business environment. "Even with the continuing demand for delivery, companies face rising costs, unstable consumer demand and the need to adapt to difficult economic conditions. In these circumstances, businesses are striving to maximize operational efficiency — automating logistics, optimizing routes through algorithms and artificial intelligence. This allows to maintain competitiveness but leads to a decrease in the number of employed couriers", said the expert.

Sergey Drobyshevsky, Principal Researcher at the Gaidar Institute, in a commentary for Rossiyskaya Gazeta said what helped Russia to retain the fourth place in the world list of countries by GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP).

Lora Nakoryakova, Partner at the Center for Evidence-Based Expertise at the Gaidar Institute, in her commentary for Nezavisimaya Gazeta emphasized that in the context of the persistently high key rate, companies with a significant credit load need state support.

Experts of the Economic Policy Foundation, Vladimir Sedalishchev and Olga Ponomareva, commented for Vzglyad business newspaper on the recent announcement by the US President Donald Trump on the introduction of new duties on goods from the European Union and Mexico from August 1.