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The key rate growth and economic uncertainty has led to an increase in the share of Russians buying cars without using car loans. Dmitry Evdokimov, Researcher at the Gaidar Institute’s Quantitative Analysis of Economic Effects Department said in a commentary for Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

In a comment for the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily, Lora Nakoryakova, Deputy Director of the Gaidar Institute’s Center for Evidence-Based Expertise notes that the data on housing commissioning per capita allow the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation to report that national project targets have been met in 18 Russian regions.

In a comment to RBC, Аnton Beloglazov, Head of the Evidence-Based Economics Department at the Gaidar Institute said that a downturn in large developers’ activity would affect small and medium-sized businesses operating in the building industry.

Denis Ternovskiy, expert at the Economic Policy Foundation commented for RTVI on the draft law on mandatory GOST for food products, noting that the innovation could lead to positive changes on the market.

Maria Girich, Researcher at the Gaidar Institute’s International Best Practices Analysis Department, commented for Rossiyskaya Gazeta on the causes of river and reservoir shallowing and their impact on the economy and the environment. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the economic damage caused by droughts in 2021 will increase by 63% compared to the 20-year average. And according to the UN, drought could affect 75% of the world’s population by 2050.

Antonina Levashenko, Head of the International Best Practices Analysis Department at the Gaidar Institute, commented for Izvestia on the changes announced by the Bank of Russia in the rules for investing pension reserves of non-state pension funds (NPFs). The reform envisages the abolition of key limits on investments in securities, expansion of the list of allowed assets and increase in the share of risky instruments.

Maria Girich, Researcher at the Gaidar Institute’s International Best Practices Analysis Department, assessed in a commentary for Rossiyskaya Gazeta the desire of marketplaces to deploy a network of ATMs in their order points.

Ekaterina Papchenkova, expert, Center for Evidence-Based Expertise at the Gaidar Institute, noted in her commentary for Izvestia that the current draft law on platform economy, in fact, consolidates the existing state of affairs and does not solve the problem of ‘'grey’' employment.

Lyubov Filin, head of the Evidence-Based Regulation Laboratory, said in a commentary for Nezavisimaya Gazeta that one should not overestimate the readiness of the labor pool for immediate employment.

Evgeny Goryunov, head of the Monetary Policy Department at the Gaidar Institute, said in a commentary for RT that the key rate may be significantly reduced by the end of next year if the current trend of slowing inflation continues. «If nothing extraordinary happens, inflation will be around 6.5–7.5% by the end of the year. It is now slowing down very quickly, and so far this process looks quite stable. Accordingly, the key rate will continue to decline and, I think, will reach 14–16% by the end of 2025," the expert predicted. Evgeny Goryunov also noted that the Central Bank may reduce the rate more aggressively in case of a threat of overcooling of the economy, but he estimates the probability of recession in Russia as low, assuming GDP growth of 1.2% this year.

Kirill Chernovol, Researcher at the Gaidar Institute’s International Best Practices Analysis Department, analyzed the trend of non-cash payments growth in Russia noted by the Central Bank in a commentary for Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The expert emphasized that this process is a normal worldwide trend but requires close attention to the security and stability of the digital infrastructure.

Lyubov Filin, Head of the Gaidar Institute’s Evidence-Based Regulatory Practice Department, assessed the current situation in the Russian labor market in a commentary for Forbes, noting signs of its cooling.

June 17, 2025, Lora Nakoryakova, Deputy Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Expertise at the Gaidar Institute, took part in the program “Day. Main issues” program on RBC, where she and the anchors discussed Russia’s platform economy. On the program, the expert assessed the pace of its development and emphasized the contribution of small and medium-sized businesses to employment and reduction of unemployment.

Despite the strengthening of the ruble, Russian imports in January-April grew by only 1.8%, while exports shrank by 5.9%, to $128.2 bn. Experts Alexander Firanchuk and Olga Ponomaryova explained the reasons for such dynamics in a commentary to RBC, citing the fall in commodity prices.

China’s delay in issuing export permits for rare earth metals may lead to serious losses and even suspension of operations of enterprises around the world, especially in the European automotive industry. This opinion was expressed by Antonina Levashenko, Head of International Best Practices Analysis Department at the Gaidar Institute, to RIA Novosti.

Amid growing geopolitical tensions on a global scale, trade wars, and the slowdown of globalization processes, the question of the future of the world’s reserve currencies is becoming particularly relevant. Evgeny Goryunov, Head of Monetary Policy Department at the Gaidar Institute, carried out analysis to find out how stable the dollar’s position is and whether the yuan will be able to compete with it.