Russian economy declining - Russian economic growth has gone into neutral. The situation has declined so greatly that the most pessimistic observers now fear a return to the 2008-2009 scenario, when the global crisis and the fall in oil prices led Russia right into a slump. Growth - which in 2012 had fallen to 3.4% - stalled at the beginning of 2013 and in the first quarter reached 1.1% year on year, thanks only to an unexpected recovery in March. Industrial production has contracted for the first time since 2009 and a brake has been put on consumption, supported by historically weak unemployment - under 6%. The Russian government has reduced its growth forecast for 2013 from 3.6% to 2.4%. This is a rate that is far from the 7-8% growth per year that Russia enjoyed during the first two terms of office of Vladimir Putin (2000-2008). It is a performance that is much more disappointing than Putin had promised for this term of office - more than 5% in the long term. (IL/transl.fl)