[50] However, its income inequality remains comparatively high,[51] caused by the variance of natural resources among its federal subjects, leading to regional economic disparities.

[52][53] High levels of corruption,[54] a shrinking labor force,[55] and an aging and declining population also remain major barriers to future economic growth.

[58] However, Russia's economy has shown resilience to such measures broadly, and has maintained economic stability and growth—driven primarily by high military expenditure,[59] rising household consumption and wages,[60] low unemployment,[13] and increased government spending.

Its industrial structure dramatically shifted away over the course of several years from heavy investment in manufacturing as well as in traditional Soviet agriculture towards free market related developments in natural gas and oil extraction in additional to businesses engaged in mining.

The academic analyst Richard Connolly has argued that, over the last four centuries in a broad sense, there were four main characteristics of the Russian economy that have shaped the system and persisted despite the political upheavals.

[63] The economy of the Russian Empire covers the economic history of Russia from 1721 to the October Revolution of 1917 (which ushered in a period of civil war, culminating in the creation of the Soviet Union).

The cumbersome procedures for bureaucratic administration foreclosed the free communication and flexible response required at the enterprise level for dealing with worker alienation, innovation, customers, and suppliers.

Corrupt and haphazard privatization processes turned over major state-owned firms to politically connected "oligarchs", which has left equity ownership highly concentrated.

It was based on the policies associated with the Washington Consensus, recommendations of the IMF and a group of top American economists, including Larry Summers[69][70][71] who in 1994 urged for "the three '-ations'—privatization, stabilization, and liberalization" to be "completed as soon as possible.

"[72] With deep corruption afflicting the process, the result was disastrous, with real GDP falling by more than 40% by 1999, hyperinflation which wiped out personal savings, crime and destitution spreading rapidly.

[73][74] The jump in prices from shock therapy wiped out the modest savings accumulated by Russians under socialism and resulted in a regressive redistribution of wealth in favour of elites who owned non-monetary assets.

[75] Shock therapy was accompanied by a drop in the standard of living, including surging economic inequality and poverty,[76] along with increased excess mortality[77][78][79] and a decline in life expectancy.

"[86] Difficulties in collecting government revenues amid the collapsing economy and dependence on short-term borrowing to finance budget deficits led to the 1998 Russian financial crisis.

The IMF was criticised for lending so much, as Russia introduced little of the reforms promised for the money and a large part of these funds could have been "diverted from their intended purpose and included in the flows of capital that left the country illegally".

Russia recovered quickly from the August 1998 financial crash, partly because of a devaluation of the ruble, which made domestic producers more competitive nationally and internationally.

[114] However, these gains have been distributed unevenly, as the 110 wealthiest individuals were found in a report by Credit Suisse to own 35% of all financial assets held by Russian households.

[73] Several reasons were proposed to explain the slowdown, including a prolonged recession in the EU, which is Russia's largest trading partner, stagnant oil prices, lack of spare industrial capacity and demographic problems.

Russia responded with sanctions against a number of countries, including a one-year period of total ban on food imports from the European Union and the United States.

The combined value of all mineral and energy resources (oil, gas, gold, copper, iron ore, thermal and lignite coal, and diamonds) amounted to 55.24 trillion rubles (US$844 billion), or 60% of GDP for 2017.

[152][153] In the International Comparison Program 2021, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region was linked through the standard global core list approach, unlike in ICP 2017.

[166][167] In 2022, The Economist calculated that Russia did graduate into the category of high-income economies by 2022, if counted at purchasing power parity rather than the exchange rate but could fall below the threshold due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia currently has a record low unemployment rate of just 3 percent,[178] due to a demographic decline, demands of the war for industrial and military manpower, and large scale emigration.

Already under the new head of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Elvira Nabiullina, it was planned to complete the transition to a floating exchange rate regime from 1 January 2015.

[206] Corruption is perceived as a significant problem in Russia,[207] affecting various aspects of life, including the economy,[208] business,[209] public administration,[210][211] law enforcement,[212] healthcare,[213] and education.

Russia is the largest diamond-producing nation in the world, estimated to produce over 33 million carats in 2013, or 25% of global output valued at over $3.4 billion, with state-owned ALROSA accounting for approximately 95% of all Russian production.

[261] Various analysts of climate change adaptation foresee large opportunities for Russian agriculture during the rest of the 21st century as arability increases in Siberia, which would lead to both internal and external migration to the region.

Russia has a large and sophisticated arms industry, capable of designing and manufacturing high-tech military equipment, including a fifth-generation fighter jet, nuclear powered submarines, firearms, and short range/long range ballistic missiles.

The government has launched a program promoting construction of IT-oriented technology parks (Technoparks)—special zones that have an established infrastructure and enjoy a favorable tax and customs regime, in seven different locations: Moscow, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaluga, Tumen, Republic of Tatarstan and St. Peterburg Region.

[291] Under a government decree signed in June 2013, a special "roadmap" is expected to ease business suppliers' access to the procurement programs of state-owned infrastructure monopolies, including such large ones as Gazprom, Rosneft, Russian Railways, Rosatom, and Transneft.

[301] Russia's most visited and popular landmarks include Red Square, the Peterhof Palace, the Kazan Kremlin, the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius and Lake Baikal.