Oil Price Woe Pushes Russian Economy to 3.7% Contraction in 2015, Hits Country’s Poorest

MOSCOW — The Russian economy in 2015 recorded its biggest contraction for more than half a decade as it shrank by 3.7 percent, according to official figures released Monday. Russia has come under pressure from a collapse in oil prices, dramatic currency volatility and Western sanctions over Ukraine.

Ordinary Russians suffered acutely in the downturn with real wages dropping 9.5 percent and a 7.4 percent rise in unemployment, according to the preliminary numbers for 2015 given by the State Statistics Service.