Diminished growth prospects: In October 2014, the IMF downgraded its forecast for Russia's economic growth in 2014, from 1.3% to 0.2%. It projected that Russia's economy will only grow by 0.5% in 2015. Although the Russian government had initially been optimistic about its economic growth prospects, in early December 2014, the Bank of Russia forecasted that the economy could contract by 4.5% in 2015.