Russia's light industry "is collapsing", with factories shutting down and brands fleeing abroad, according to an expert. The Kremlin is grappling with a growing economic crisis, as Western sanctions bite and oil prices plunge.

       Russia's Central Bank has been forced to raise its key interest rate to a record high of 21%, in a bid to curb spiralling inflation. Consumers have seen food prices explode, and are finding it increasingly hard to access credit. Meanwhile, businesses are struggling to pay back bank loans and becoming dangerously overloaded with debt.

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       The retail and construction sectors have been hit particularly hard, with many firms fighting to stay afloat.

       The growing economic storm now appears to be battering Russia's light industry sector.

       In a post to his X social media account, Kyrylo Shevchenko - a former head of Ukraine's National Bank - wrote: "Russia’s light industry is collapsing: factories shut down, brands flee abroad, and workers move to military production.

       "Garment factories relocate to China, Uzbekistan, and Bangladesh, while defense enterprises buy up the rest.

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       "Businesses cite the war as their biggest challenge, struggling against cheaper, tax-free Chinese imports.

       "The final blow? The Instagram ban, which erased up to 90% of sales for small brands."

       New data shows that bankruptcies of Russian companies have almost tripled since the beginning of Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

       Last year, a whopping 52,000 firms went bust, up from just 18,000 in 2021, when the conflict in Ukraine was still localised in the east of the country.

       Russia's conflict in Ukraine has had a massively detrimental impact on its economic prospects.

       Estimates suggest that had Vladimir Putin not initiated his aggressive actions in Ukraine in 2014, when it illegally annexed Crimea, Russia's economy could have been nearly 20% larger today.

       Analysts also predict that the Russian economy will only grow at about 1% per year going forward.