Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday announced he is running for the Russian presidency in upcoming elections. The experts told Vestnik Kavkaza about about the reaction this event caused in both the West and Russia, and how it will affect the country's economy and social sphere.
President of the National Strategy Institute, Mikhail Remizov explained that Putin's decision was not a surprise for Washington and Brussels. "Of course, some pressure was exerted, but nevertheless, our Western partners have worked out a long-term deterrence strategy. And, of course, they do not expect that because of this strategy Putin will face insurmountable difficulties in the spring of 2018," the expert explained.
According to him, the Russians were also waiting for the head of state's decision to run in the elections again. "And not just because Putin was so good at this job and became popular, but also because he has not yet finished his strategic work. He said himself that it is necessary to come to a state where the fate of the country is not depend on one person. While we have not come to this state. And in this situation a new term is an opportunity to solve this problem," the president of the National Strategy Institute stressed.
Putin's decision announced yesterday will help to resolve a number of problems in the social sphere right now, Mikhail Remizov said, referring to the announced measures on demography. "The government is introducing long-awaited more weighty monthly benefits," the expert warned.
Nevertheless, the expert said that the situation with Russia's economy does not leave much room for optimism. "There is an intrigue linked to the progressive scale of taxation. I think that the Russian system of administration is ready to introduce such a progressive scale of taxation, but the leadership of the Russian Federation does not yet show such readiness. As for the economy, I see no signs of a new course here, which would ensure the pace of catch-up development," he noted
The expert also spoke about the inappropriate participation of the incumbent head of state in the debates. "This election is not a competition of candidates, but a vote of confidence in Putin: these are plebiscite-type elections. In this situation, it would be more appropriate to make systemic proposals to the voters and take on certain obligations for the next term before the voters," Mikhal Remizov concluded.
The advisor on macroeconomics to the CEO of the 'Opening-Broker' brokerage house, economist Sergey Hestanov, also expressed opinion that the leaderships of the US and the EU are neutral towards Putin's decision to run for the presidency. "When any predictable event happens, the reaction to it is close to zero," he pointed out.
Commenting on the prospects of Russia's course to decrease dependence on natural resources, the expert noted that it's a right course, but it is far from fully realizing. "We proclaimed a shift from the target economy a long time ago, but we are moving very slowly in this direction," the economist complained.
Nevertheless, as he drew attention, we should not forget that changes in the structure of the economy are always very slow. "We must understand that it would take at least 2-5 years," Sergey Hestanov added.
