-26%

was the consumer confidence index in the fourth quarter of 2015. This is one of the lowest indicators in the six years following the 2008-2009 crisis.

The local minimum for the post-crisis period came in the first quarter of 2015 (-32%).

However, consumer sentiment is not as pessimistic as it was during the epicenter of previous crises. In the first quarter of 2009, the the consumer confidence index dropped to -35%, and in the fourth quarter of 1998 it reached -58%, which was the lowest value for the entire observation period.

These data are presented in a new Monitoring of the Economic Sentiment Index study carried out in the fourth quarter of 2015. The study was prepared by the Centre for Business Tendency Studies at the HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK). The monitoring study used the results of sample surveys of 5,000 respondents representing the adult population (carried out on a quarterly basis by the Federal State Statistics Service).