Russia's economic policies have allowed the country to weather international sanctions while maintaining substantial foreign exchange reserves, according to a new report by the International Monetary Fund released this week.
The IMF assessment found that Russia's “sizeable foreign exchange reserves and floating exchange rate regime continue to help absorb external shocks.” The report specifically noted that capital control measures introduced after sanctions were imposed in early 2022, while subsequently eased, “have remained effective in reducing outflows while preserving reserves despite sanctions.”
According to the findings, these maintained restrictions — including limits on foreign investment repatriation and cash foreign currency withdrawals — helped contain private capital outflows. The IMF reported outflows reached just 2.4% of GDP in 2024, only slightly above the 2% recorded in 2023.
The report comes as Russia's Central Bank announced international reserves reached a historic high of $688.7 billion as of July 1, 2025. The reserves, which include foreign currencies, IMF Special Drawing Rights and monetary gold, saw some rebalancing in June — with foreign currency reserves declining 1.82% to $440 billion while gold reserves grew 0.2% to $248.7 billion.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on TASS materials