Medvedev Says Russia Risks Sliding Into Deep Recession

Russia's economy is at risk of entering a period of deep recession, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was quoted by RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

"...if we put before ourselves more modest tasks then we risk going into a deeper recession, which could happen" the state-owned TASS media reports.

He compared the current economic situation to that of 2008 during the financial crisis, according to BBC.

The Ministry of Economic Defense predicts that the Russia GDP will fall by 0.8%, according to BBC.

But others are even more pessimistic.

"The PMI survey found the Russian economy risking not only prolonged, but deep recession. We expect 1.5% GDP decline in 2015, but are prepared to see even deeper decline if current negative trends by the PMI survey continue," Alexander Morozov, the Chief Economist of Russia, CIS and the Baltics at HSBC wrote earlier in December.

"The outgoing year - how unpleasant it is to say this - was not easy. However, let someone show me at least one example of an easy year that we have lived, starting with 1991, and even before that," Medvedev added.

(Reuters reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Alison Williams)