[FrancisMoodie]

Huh, so you're claiming that GDP data and such is not correct? Any source on that? Because I see multiple sources reporting that in 2023 the GDP of Russia was $2,009,959M and that of Italy was $2,300,941M, although Italy has a higher debt %. Which would confirm the original posters claim considering Italy is a much, much smaller country than Russia. What I find a common trope is people claiming facts are incorrect without stating proof.

[xybercow]

At the start of Feb 2025 USD was 100 RUB, a few days ago it was 85 RUB. Does this mean their nominal GDP grew by 15% in one month? In some cases it's fine to use Nominal GDP while in other cases, you should use GDP PPP instead. When you look at PPP figures, Russia's economy is on par with Germany or Japan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)

Anders Puck Nielsen just published an interesting video on this topic [How does Russia's military spending compare to Europe?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxq-TvgNCBU)

[JumpCrisscross]

> When you look at PPP figures, Russia's economy is on par with Germany or Japan

The Russian economy cannot produce half of what Germany or Japan can. That means they have to import it. Which means the truth is somewhere between PPP and nominal GDP. (The simplest statistical treatment is to PPP domestic industries and nominalise imports, but that’s really an analysis one must do oneself as the assumptions are too numerous for convincing someone who’s already concluded adversely.)

[snailmailstare]

> Does this mean their nominal GDP grew by 15% in one month?

If they could keep selling in rubles without a fall in exports or prices then the month's contribution to GDP was 15% higher than the previous one. That doesn't seem very confusing.

[antirez]

When discussing debt you need to factor in the interesting fact that people in Italy have savings sleeping on the bank that basically counter weight the debt.

[ttoinou]

You can make statistics about whatever you want and assign any meaning you want to the numbers you get. It doesnt mean it’s true. The assumptions in the economic theories do not hold true in real life, hence all computations are useless