The Economist: Russia Has Six Months Left

• 7.09.2026, 16:49

An expert predicted a crisis worse than the 1998 default.

The war unleashed by the Kremlin against Ukraine is destroying the country’s economy. The Russian regime has only half a year left before it collapses.

This forecast was made by renowned Russian economist Vyacheslav Shiryaev in an interview with journalist Evgeny Kiselev, as reported by dialog.ua.

He recalled that as early as late 2025, he had predicted an economic collapse in Russia, and recent events confirm his assumptions.

- They (the Russian authorities—ed.) are printing money to cover the budget deficit because no one is lending to them. They are now directly financing the Ministry of Finance from the Central Bank, just as they did in the 1990s, while pretending to conduct some sort of repo operations and OFZ auctions. This may continue for several more months, but it will end in a GDP collapse, hyperinflation, and a crisis worse than the one in 1998. “It will inevitably end this way,” the economist assured.

According to him, the U.S. and Israeli operation in Iran has postponed the timing of the catastrophe for the Kremlin, but only by 3–4 months.

“The system has reached its limit. Putin has no chance of winning; everyone understands that. He’ll keep running headlong into a wall, but events will unfold that are beyond his will and control. I remain convinced that by the end of 2026, it will become clear to everyone: the country is in a state of catastrophe,” the expert stated.

He expects the war to end either at the end of 2026 or in early 2027. Putin will not be able to continue fighting.