Fiscal situation is gradually improving despite Western sanctions
Russia’s economy is expected to show positive developments by the end of the year, Maksim Oreshkin, economic adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in a speech at a youth forum on Saturday.
« The cogs of our economy are speeding up step by step, loan volumes are increasing and interest rates are falling. We see that the banks’ loan portfolios are already growing, whereas during the most difficult periods of April-May, they were falling. All of this indicates that the cogs of the economy have started to work. And by the end of the year, we should see some positive developments,said Oreshkin.
The presidential aide noted that the situation was improving in retail sales, which showed growth compared to last year, boosting business revenues.
Oreshkin also said that Russia’s main task was to build a « sovereign economy » what would be « confident in his abilities, working with any partner, but at the same time does not depend on them and is invulnerable.“His remarks echo the view of Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, who said earlier this week that Russia should strive to achieve”technological sovereigntyand focus the economy on prioritizing domestic needs, while continuing to increase export potential.
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Russia is turning away from the market economy
In early June, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would not shut down its economy, despite Western sanctions linked to Ukraine. Speaking at the SPIEF forum, the president called openness one of the key principles of Russia’s new economic policy and said the country does not want to withdraw behind an iron curtain comparable to the soviet era.
The Russian economy has come under intense pressure from Western sanctions, introduced in response to the Russian military operation in Ukraine. Moscow was prevented from carrying out many international transactions, companies and individuals were sanctioned, while half of Russia’s foreign currency reserves were frozen abroad and many international companies left the market Russian. Nevertheless, Moscow says Western policies have failed to destabilize the country’s economy.
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