How Russia Economy checks facts and data

Russia Economy checks what a source actually establishes before deciding how to describe it. Finding a number is only the beginning. We also need to know its unit, period, definition, status and relationship to the claim being made.

Begin with the original record

The preferred starting points are statistical releases, central-bank decisions, budget execution reports, legislation and other primary documents. For Russia, relevant institutions include Rosstat, the Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance. International sources include the IMF, World Bank, World Trade Organization and specialist energy institutions.

An official record is authoritative about its own decision or published series. It is not automatically independent evidence for every interpretation offered alongside it. A ministry's explanation of economic performance is attributed as an assessment when it goes beyond the reported statistics.

Treat Russian statistics with context

Official Russian statistics remain important evidence, but their availability and comparability require attention. Some series have been restricted or published with less detail since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Missing detail limits what can be checked; it does not justify inventing a replacement.

Changes in territorial coverage, population weights, industry classifications and national-accounting methods can alter comparisons. Where these issues materially affect a result, the article or dataset explains them. A continuous-looking chart must not conceal a break in what is being measured.

Cross-check without mixing definitions

International datasets, partner-country customs records and credible independent research can test an account or reveal a different perspective. Cross-checking does not mean averaging incompatible numbers. Registered unemployment is different from labor-force-survey unemployment. Goods exports differ from goods and services exports. Federal-budget results differ from general-government balances.

If figures conflict, we examine the underlying definition and publication vintage first. When the conflict cannot be resolved, the limitation stays visible. An intermediary report can support a clearly attributed statement, but we do not say an inaccessible original was inspected.

Dates, estimates and revisions

Every material statistic needs an observation period. Publication dates and policy effective dates are kept separate. A forecast is labeled as a forecast even when issued by an official institution. Preliminary and revised results are identified, with the latest suitable vintage preferred for historical comparison.

Data tools display the relevant date and source. Missing values remain missing; they are not entered as zero, interpolated or replaced by a neighboring observation. Calculator assumptions are stated where readers can see them.

Check the presentation as well as the facts

We review headlines, captions, units and charts for claims stronger than the evidence. AI-assisted preparation does not change these standards: generated text must be checked against cited sources before publication. Images that illustrate a subject rather than document an event are labeled accordingly.

Questions about a published claim can be sent to [email protected]. Include the relevant page and evidence so the concern can be assessed through our corrections process.