Paul Goble
Staunton, April 16 – For the first time in its modern history, “the Russian economy is facing a labor shortage,” a development that is imposing severe structural constraints on its growth, Elvira Nabiullina, head of the Russian central bank says. And that along with restrictions on trade is evidence that “the economy is overheating.”
Her remarks to the Moscow Economic Forum are the latest indication that the Russian authorities if not yet Vladimir Putin are frightened by what is going on and see no real prospects for change until major changes are taken in policies across the board (rosbalt.ru/news/2026-04-16/nabiullina-v-rossii-nehvatka-rabochey-sily-vpervye-v-ee-istorii-5581310).
Nabiullina’s words will add to pressures on the Kremlin not only to wind up Putin’s war in Ukraine, something that would be popular among most Russians but also to reverse course on restricting the entrance of migrant workers from Central Asia and the Caucasus, something that would likely be extremely unpopular.
Putin has acknowledged that the Russian economy is contracting and now stands at a level 1.8 percent below what it was a year ago; but he appears to believe he can ride this out, although comments by senior officials like Nabiullina are going to make that more unpopular among many in the elite as well as even more in the population.
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