The funny thing is that when Russia was added to the G-7 (making it the G-8) back in 1997, it really was just a way to bolster the Yeltsin government as it went through a rough time following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia wasn't really one of the eight biggest industrialized economies at the time. The Russian economy was a total mess for much of the 1990s. President Clinton advocated letting Russia into that exclusive club of "developed nations" for geopolitical reasons, even though it really was in a different league than the other seven.
Now that it is being kicked out (at least temporarily), Russia really is the 8th biggest economy in the world. Furthermore, Russia's current nominal GDP is larger than two still-current G-8/G-7 members: Canada and Italy.
(Okay, if you look at per capita GDP, Russia falls down to #48, but none of the current G-7 members are in the top seven of that list (the highest is the U.S. at #9))
Now that it is being kicked out (at least temporarily), Russia really is the 8th biggest economy in the world. Furthermore, Russia's current nominal GDP is larger than two still-current G-8/G-7 members: Canada and Italy.
(Okay, if you look at per capita GDP, Russia falls down to #48, but none of the current G-7 members are in the top seven of that list (the highest is the U.S. at #9))
