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- The "real situation" in Russia's economy is bad, Russian economist Igor Lipsits told Reuters.
- Russian authorities' rosy announcements are aimed at making the Kremlin happy, he said.
- Around 14% of Russians live below or are on the brink of poverty, he added.
The Kremlin has been painting a rosy picture of the country's economy even amid a swathe of Western sanctions — but "the real situation is bad," Igor Lipsits, a prominent Russian economist, told Reuters.
Official rosy pronouncements on the Russian economy are not a good gauge of how the Russian economy is doing because authorities are just trying to make the Kremlin happy, Lipsits added.
The economist confirmed the comments to Business Insider.