Herman Gref, the chief executive of Sberbank, called on Russia’s central bank to cut the key interest rate, stating that the Russian economy cannot survive long under current conditions. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on September 4, Gref identified the central bank’s elevated key rate as the main constraint on the economy, attributing the economic slowdown to the 18% rate in place at the time. He further noted that the key rate remains one of the highest in the world.

Gref characterized the economic performance in mid-2025 as a period of contraction. According to KyivPost, Gref stated that the Russian economy slipped into technical stagnation in the second quarter of 2025, moving to zero growth in July and August. He described the economy as having technically stagnated during the July-August period.

The central bank had previously raised the key rate to 21% in October 2025 to combat increasing inflation. However, since June, the key rate has been lowering. In July 2025, Russia’s annual inflation fell for the fourth consecutive month to 8.8%, down from 9.4% in June.