Russia's economy slowed sharply in the first three months of the year. It is due to uncertainty over the crisis in Ukraine that spooked investors into pulling money out of the country.In the first official estimate of the Ukrainian turmoil's impact on growth, Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said the economy expanded just 0.8 per cent in the first quarter far short of the earlier prediction of 2.5 per cent.Russian markets have been rattled by tensions between Moscow and neighboring Ukraine, where Russia annexed the Black Sea region of Crimea last month.The main stock index tanked 10 per cent in March, wiping out billions in market capitalization.In the first three months of 2014, the rubble lost 9 per cent against the dollar, making imports more expensive, while spooked investors pulled about USD 70 billion out of the country more than in all of 2013.Among investors' chief concerns are that the US and European Union might escalate their sanctions against Russia to affect trade, particularly in the valuable energy market.Europe is Russia's largest trading partner. It buys more than three-quarters of Russia's crude oil and natural gas exports, which fund about half the government budget. source; DD News