Russian economy records significant surplus despite sanctions

Official figures show that the Russian economy achieved a budget surplus of the equivalent of $23 billion in the first half of 2022, despite sanctions imposed by the West to halt Moscow's war with Ukraine.
Russia's budget surplus reached 1,374 trillion roubles ($23 billion) thanks to higher revenues, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday, according to Interfax news agency.
Moscow is benefiting from the soaring price of oil, with revenues from the oil and gas sector far higher than expected.
Russia earned more than $100 billion from selling oil and gas in the first half of 2022, 66% of the revenues expected from the sale of fossil raw materials for the whole of 2022.
So far, multiple rounds of sanctions imposed by the West have mainly made it harder for Russia to import Western goods. However, they are having little effect on Moscow's ability to export Russian raw materials, primarily oil and gas.
High prices on the commodity markets mean Russia has been able to make greater profits despite lower export volumes.