Putin says Russia avoids sharp economic decline, inflation stable

MOSCOW, Sep 12 (PRIME) -- The Russian authorities have managed to avoid a sharp decline in the economy and to stabilize inflation despite the Western sanctions, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday at a government meeting.

“We implemented protective measures swiftly, launched mechanisms to support the key industries and system-forming companies as well as small and medium-sized businesses. They are aimed at maintaining employment and providing targeted aid to the people. As a result, we prevented a sharp decline in the economy and managed to stabilize inflation,” he said.

Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) fall slowed down to 4.3% in July from 4.9% in June, Putin said. Dynamics of the key monthly factors show that the economy is switching to the growth path, he added.

Inflation slowed down to 14.1% in September from a peak of 17.8% in April, and there are grounds to expect that inflation will be 12% in 2022 and continue to fall after that, Putin said.

According to Putin, Russia managed to stabilize the labor market, and unemployment is now at the lowest level. However, the number of people facing losing their jobs is rising, he said, adding that almost 234,000 employees are in downtime, on forced vacations, or working part-time. Putin called on the government to pay attention to such problems and find efficient solutions.

Russia’s federal budget should correspond to priority challenges that the country faces, and the government has to prioritize Russia’s development, implementation of national projects, and creation of conditions for a structural change in the economy, Putin said, adding that the process of de-dollarization of the economy was inevitable.

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