The drop in GDP follows a similar contraction of four percent in the second quarter as Western sanctions hit the Russian economy following Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine.
The 4% fall in economic output between July and September was smaller than analysts had expected a 4.5% contraction.
The contraction is due to the plunge of wholesale trade by 22.6% and retail trade by 9.1%.
On the positive side, construction grew by 6.7 percent and agriculture by 6.2 percent.
A recession is usually defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction, and Russia last experienced a technical recession in late 2020 and early 2021 as the world weathered the coronavirus pandemic.
The Russian economy fared well in early 2022 with GDP growing by 3.5%, but the start of the offensive in Ukraine triggered a flurry of Western sanctions.
Export and import restrictions, staff shortages and problems with the supply of spare parts have put a lot of pressure on the Russian economy.
On November 8, the central bank predicted that gross domestic product would contract by 3.5 percent this year.
The IMF and the World Bank, respectively, estimate a drop in Russian GDP of 3.4% and 4.5%.
Despite a shrinking economy, Russia’s unemployment rate stood at 3.9 percent in September, according to Rosstat.
In October, the Russian central bank kept its key interest rate at 7.5%. It was the first time since the start of the military offensive in Ukraine that the key interest rate remained unchanged.
The central bank does not plan to change interest rates until the end of the year, a sign of “adjustment” to a “new reality,” Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiulina said.
After Russia was hit by Western sanctions over its attack on Ukraine, the bank sharply raised its key interest rate from 9.5% to 20% in a bid to tackle inflation and support the ruble.
