Russia's isolation from the global economy caused poor turnout at Putin's economic forum in St. Petersburg. The event previously drew big names from the West, but was mostly populated by lower-level politicians this time. Experts have sounded the alarm on Russia's economy amid Ukraine war sanctions. But experts have warned that the moat between Russia and Western world could be lethal to Russia's economy. Though some prognosticators see Russia's economy posting small growth this year, those estimates are largely based on the Kremlin's "cherry-picked" statistics, according to two Yale researchers, who recently made the case that Russia's economy is struggling far more than Putin has let on so far.

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Persons: —, Vladimir Putin's, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Zhang Hanhui, Zhou Liqun, Putin Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Union of Chinese Entrepreneurs, Yale Locations: St . Petersburg, Ukraine, Soviet Union, America, Asia, Russia, China, Moscow, Western