Russia’s economy contracted by 4.6 per cent in the second quarter compared with the same period in 2014, the largest drop in six years, marking the country’s first recession since the financial crisis in 2009. The Federal Statistics Office did not offer any details with its first estimate, but analysts said the preliminary figure was likely to be revised downward as sectoral statistics — which includes retail sales, industrial production and household incomes — pointed to an even steeper drop in real terms. The 4.6 per cent contraction was slightly worse than analysts’ consensus estimate. Economists warned that the renewed slide in oil prices, which has pushed the rouble lower, would make a quick recovery even more unlikely. The figure comes after the first quarter of this year when the economy contracted by a relatively mild 2.2 per cent. Until June, the Russian government had been assuring the public that the worst of the current crisis was over as the rouble stabilised after undergoing a severe depreciation at the end of last year.