Dmitry Medvedev: Russian economy gains new momentum

Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev wrote an article entitled 'Russia’s social and economic development: acquisition of new dynamics' for the Voprosy Ekonomiki (Economic Issues) magazine.

He noted that Russia managed to survive the economic crisis due to a system of anti-crisis measures, and the results were better than most forecasts.

Medvedev stressed that in planning anti-crisis reforms the government should avoid populist tactics, which might lead to the reforms carried out at the expense of people.

Medvedev also noted that the sustainable economic growth in Russia depends on political stability, which the newly elected parliament must ensure.

However, he warns that we should not expect a good economic situation, it is necessary to build a new model of economic growth.

Medevedev expects that "in the coming years Russia will face a competition between the countries for the markets, investment and human resources, the continuing trade and financial restrictions, the relative decline in prices of goods".

"Under these conditions, it is critical not only to restore economic growth, but achieve its long-term and sustained increase," Medvedev stressed.

Russia's economic development was affected by external shocks, such as the negative dynamics of oil prices and other Russian exports, financial and technological sanctions, the prime minister said. However, "the main factor of low economic development is the structural problems of the Russian economy, caused by the global crisis and the exhaustion of the model of economic growth of the 2000s.

The Prime Minister also pointed out that the federal budget needs to find a balance between the need to reduce costs and stimulate the resumption of economic growth.

"We will continue to optimize the budget, reducing less effective expences and increasing effective ones, those which provide a higher productivity of the Russian economy," Medvedev explained.