The decisions taken in Russia in order to respond to the crisis sparked by the coronavirus hit the mark, President Vladimir Putin said at Thursday’s meeting on the federal budget, TASS reports.
"Apparently, we managed to hit the right targets," the head of state said. “Not without problems, not without disruptions, but still we got to the right spots, including direct payments to families with children, an increase in unemployment benefits, tax write-off, placing additional orders for enterprises in key industries and a whole range of other measures," Putin emphasized.
The coronavirus pandemic and related lockdown restrictions "actually froze the global economy," the nation’s leader said. Russia’s GDP contracted by 12% in April and by 10.9% in May, Putin noted. "The situation demanded prompt action from us," he added. "Certainly, it was necessary to back certain sectors of the economy, enterprises, business in general, employees of enterprises and organizations, to weather this difficult, crisis stage, and to preserve the income of Russian families,” the head of state explained.
