STOCKSHOTS: Russia's economic future uncertain Russia has seen purchasing power decrease continuously for the past four years after the economy was hit with international sanctions punishing Moscow for annexation of Crimea in 2014 followed by a fall in global oil prices in 2016. In a report from November 2017, the World Bank described less than half of Russians -- 46.3 percent -- as secure from sinking into poverty, 10 percent less than in 2014. STOCKSHOTS of the Russian economy: industries, banks, factories, consumer goods