State of Russia’s foreign trade in the context of increased geopolitical tensions

The state of foreign trade is significantly influenced by the political situation and the level of international integration between countries. Previously, Russia had close ties with many countries in Europe and the United States, but with the onset of the sanctions confrontation, the structure of foreign trade has undergone a number of changes. Unprecedented sanctions pressure in 2022 led to a decrease in the volume of export-import relations, but by 2023 the country managed to adapt its activities taking into account existing administrative barriers and promising sales markets, as a result of which foreign trade turnover began to grow again. The study assesses the state and main trends in changes in foreign trade in Russia in the period 2021-2024, the influence of unfavorable political factors and their consequences are identified. The study period is 2021-2024. It was found that in 2022, against the backdrop of the increasing impact of sanctions on foreign trade activities, there was a decline in both exports and imports. However, already in 2023, the volumes of exports and imports began to grow to pre-crisis levels, and the first half of 2024 also shows decent results, almost at the level of the same period of the previous year. In the commodity structure of exports, mineral resources are in the lead - more than 60%, and in the structure of imports - machinery and equipment (more than 50%). In the geographical structure of foreign trade, a steady trend towards reorientation of trade flows to Asian countries is noted.