UPDATE: Putin: Russian recession over, economic growth starts

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MOSCOW, Jun 15 (PRIME) -- Recession in the Russian economy is over, and the country has entered a period of growth, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday during a direct Q&A session.

“Is the economic crisis over? Of course, I really want to answer positively, I really want to send a positive signal to the society, but I always think what if something happens, some malfunction occurs. But we must certainly base and make conclusions on objective data – what objective data say – the data say that recession in the Russian economy has been overcome,” Putin said. “And we’ve switched to a period of growth.”

Economic growth is modest so far, but has been observed for three quarters in a row, Putin said, adding that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.7% on the year in January–April.

The structure and low labor efficiency remain unsolved issues of the Russian economy, he also said.

“We have unresolved problems in the economy, and this primarily affects the incomes of people. What are these problems? This is the structure of the economy that does not suit us, and in this connection we can talk about a low labor efficiency. If we do not raise it, there will be no new jobs, incomes will not grow. This is a key thing,” Putin said.

Real incomes of Russians have decreased over the past few years and the number of people living below the poverty line is raising concern, he added.

Russians’ real incomes fell 5.9% in 2016 and the Economic Development Ministry projects them to grow 1% in 2017.

The economic decline and a decrease of real incomes was very serious over the last few years, that’s why it is yet difficult for Russians to feel GDP growth, Putin said.

“The level of decline was rather significant that is why it is difficult to feel economic growth at once. I see this problem as the most important and pressing,” he said.

Nevertheless, the real wage in Russia grew 0.7% in 2016 and 2.3–2.4% in April, he added.

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