President Vladimir Putin attributed the recent drop in Russia’s GDP to seasonal factors, speaking at a government meeting on economic issues.

Putin said GDP had contracted by 1.8 percent in the first two months of the year, driven mainly by manufacturing and construction. He said the primary cause was a smaller number of working days compared to the previous year.

“Among the causes of the negative trend, specialists point to calendar, weather, and so-called seasonal factors. I mentioned this at the last meeting — we know it well: in January of this year there were two fewer working days than last year, and in February there was one fewer working day,” he said.

Putin acknowledged that investment activity in the country was being shaped by “not only” the factors he had cited, but did not specify what the others were.

Russia’s GDP grew by 1 percent in 2025, down from more than 4 percent the year before. The slowdown is a direct consequence of the war: the state is spending more on defense, and civilian sectors of the economy are growing more slowly.