The only beneficiary of the civil sector of the Russian economy this year is the funeral business.

This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, according to Ukrinform.

According to the agency, industrial production in Russia grew by 1.4% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, mainly due to government orders for enterprises associated with the military-industrial complex.

The largest growth was recorded in the production of special-purpose vehicles (3.4 times more than in 2022), electronics and optics (2.1 times), and metal products (1.5 times).

In the civilian sector, the only segment that is growing is funeral services. Against the backdrop of demographic decline and losses in the war against Ukraine, this market segment grew by 16% in six months, reaching a volume of almost USD 425 million in January-April.

Other sectors of civil industry, on the contrary, are showing a decline. In June, the overall industrial production index fell by 1.9%, with the largest declines in civil transport (-26.8%), electronics (-8.6%), and leather goods (-4.7%).

In July, the industrial optimism index fell below the levels of 2016 and 2022. 61% of the experts surveyed pointed to “significantly below normal” production volumes. For the first time since August 2022, the balance of expectations for output became negative.

Against the backdrop of the decline in the car market, KamAZ, following GAZ and AvtoVAZ, is switching to a four-day working week. At the same time, sunflower oil exports fell by 38% year-on-year.

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The number of companies planning to cut staff has doubled: from 6.9% in January to 11.5% in June. The largest cuts are in mining, machine building, and pharmaceuticals.

“The current dynamics indicate deep structural imbalances that threaten technological lost potential in the civilian sector. Meanwhile, the State Duma is calling for citizens to be punished for ‘discrediting’ domestic goods, interpreting criticism as ”unpatriotic,” the intelligence report notes.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Russian coal industry is in a state of deep crisis, which has significantly worsened after the loss of the European market and the fall in world prices.