How Russians are using the IMF meetings to distort news about the state of the economy

About Ukraine and its debts

Russia remains a member of the IMF. In September 2024, the Fund had even planned a consultative visit to Russia, which was canceled at the last minute. Although the IMF canceled its trip to Russia, the country's representatives regularly visit the Fund.

For example, at the spring meetings held in mid-April in Washington, during a press briefing, employees of the state-run agency RIA Novosti asked about the likelihood of a default in Ukraine and the danger of Ukraine’s external debt rising amid falling revenues.

An IMF representative provided detailed answers to both questions, stating that there is no risk of default and that Ukraine is receiving significant support during the war with Russia while implementing the reforms necessary for EU integration. In the end, the Russians wrote in their news report only that the head of the European Department "outlined the conditions under which Ukraine could allegedly avoid default amid rising public debt". They asked about the public debt of Ukraine and the USA for the same purpose — to present this as an issue allegedly raised by the IMF.

On Europe's defense spending

According to reports on the RIA Novosti website published during the recent IMF and World Bank meetings (which take place twice a year in various countries around the world), Russian state propaganda regularly employs such tactics.

For example, in October 2025, a RIA Novosti reporter attending a press briefing was concerned about rising defense spending in European countries. He raised this issue to write the headline: "The IMF has called on Europe to adjust its defense spending". And to quote only part of the response: "This must be adjusted in such a way as to ensure the long-term sustainability of public debt and financial stability". Thus, readers were left with the impression that the IMF had warned Europe against increasing defense spending, but in reality, this was not the case.

The transcript of the press briefing posted on the IMF website includes a second part of the response — which was not published in the Russian media — that addressed financial stability in Europe and a sound fiscal framework.

The suppression of negative news about Russia

Problems in the Russian economy are a sensitive topic for the domestic audience. That is why Russian media are cherry-picking the IMF reports to show only positive figures. For example, this year’s economic growth forecast of 1.1% due to rising oil prices was mentioned in several news reports, describing it as "significant" (an increase of 0.3% from the previous forecast). By comparison, the Ukrainian economy, although entirely dependent on Western support, is projected to grow by 2%.

At the same time, Russian propaganda makes no mention of the part of the report stating that any improvement in Russia would be short-lived, as the global economic crisis would partially offset it. And that the Russian economy, put on a war footing, would quickly be overtaken by internal problems (a critical shortage of labor, production capacity, and access to technology).

Meanwhile, a recent Financial Times article reported that Russian authorities are manipulating economic data to conceal the true state of the country’s economy. Thomas Nilsson, head of Sweden's Military Intelligence and Security Service, shared this information with the publication.

IMF economy eng propaganda russia

Підпишіться, щоб отримувати найкращі статті на e-mail (раз на два тижні)

Підписатися

Подивитись свіжий випуск