According to the Russian government as well as many independent analysts, the recession is over and Russia is on the brink of recovery, this is supported by an increase in the price of oil and some of the best performing shares in the market during the second half of 2009. Growth predictions for the Q1 of 2010 have now been increased from 2.8% to 3.5%. This adjustment has mainly been made due to the strong performance of the retail sector. The estimated annual GDP growth for 2010 is 8.1%.
Just to confirm that Russia's economy is on the up and up, it has just been announced that Russia has 28 new billionaires compared to this time last year, making a total of 77 billionaires in Russia, compared to 49 one year ago.