Russia Is Returning to Growth. (Just in Time for an Election.)<br />The central bank had to nationalize two midsize private lenders this year,<br />and several banks lost money betting against the ruble in recent years, according to Vladimir Tikhomirov, chief economist at BCS Global Markets, an investment bank.<br />The cost of Russian staples was rising: The price of bread, an important product<br />because of its mythologized status in the Soviet period as a symbol of well being, increased about 11 percent a year during the recession, according to the state statistics agency.<br />The Russian election offers Mr. Putin a chance to cement his grip on power, even as his country remains under<br />pressure from sanctions related to another election — the 2016 presidential vote in the United States.<br />Figures discussed on Friday at Mr. Putin’s meeting with government<br />and central bank officials showed strong consumer demand, a main driver of the growth.<br />But as the price of oil, a major export commodity, has recovered from multiyear<br />lows in 2014, Russia’s central bank has resumed purchases of hard currency.<br />Through the year, foreign investors have piled into Russian government bonds, raising the<br />share of Russian debt held by foreigners to more than 30 percent, up from 5 percent<br />Mr. Putin is widely expected to triumph in the March polls — there is no credible opposition,<br />and he has levers of the state, from fiscal largess to official media outlets, at his disposal.
