There were no high-profile programmatic or ideological statements from the president, but detailed figures sufficed.
Photo: REUTERS
– Let’s consider specific measures to solve the main tasks of development, – Vladimir Putin said at the beginning.
In fact, the meeting with the ministers turned out to be purely utilitarian. There were no high-profile programmatic or ideological statements from the president, but detailed numbers sufficed.
The president summarized the economic results of last year. And this is how they turned out:
* The country’s GDP fell by 2.5%. Although last spring our experts predicted more. And in the West, they predicted a decline across the board of 15 to 20%.
– Already in the third and fourth quarters there was a growth of the economy, however, compared to a sharp drop in the second quarter. Our task is to support and consolidate this positive trend,” Putin stressed.
* Defense, construction and agriculture showed the highest growth last year. The new jobs they created have kept the labor market stable.
* The strongest fall in the automotive industry. Experts talk about cutting the industry in half! In the regions affected by the sanctions, the problems of unemployment and low wages persist.
* Wood processing decreased by 21.4%. The northwest of the country was “in a particularly vulnerable position.” The Chairman mentioned that in the future he would have to dedicate a separate meeting to this.
* The manufacturing industry shows a good performance to the detriment of the defense industry.
– Companies work in several shifts, some, almost all day. In this regard, I want to thank the hard and responsible work of all specialists working in the national defense industry, said the head of state.
* Oil production in 2022 increased 2% to 535 million tons. But gas production fell 11.8%. It is true that due to the record prices, the producers of raw materials were still making a lot of money.
* In the first quarter of the new year, inflation will fall to 5%, and in the second – to 4%. Given that in 2022 annual inflation was 11.9%.
– In the second quarter of 2023, inflation may even fall below the target level of 4%, – noted Vladimir Vladimirovich.
At the end of the introductory part, Putin gave the government the main task.
– This year it is necessary to achieve an increase in real wages, improve the welfare of Russian families, – said the president.
After the speeches of all the ministers, the Russian leader summarized the results of the meeting. First, he called for an objective assessment of the economic prospects:
– It is very important not to overestimate, not to underestimate, not to overestimate, but not to underestimate, but here it is important to really calculate everything.
Farmers made a lot of money exporting grain. But Putin reminded that it is impossible to get carried away here, so as not to remove the entire harvest in general.
– I ask the Prime Minister to take control of this: if necessary, we can ensure the financial results of companies operating in the agro-industrial complex, we cannot be allowed to take everything out of the country. Despite all the logistical and cargo restrictions there, in insurance, however, the same flight will go and is already underway.
The President concluded that the country has faced economic risks.
– Look, 2022 was a very difficult year for us, and we managed to overcome those (economic – Ed.) risks that arose largely unexpectedly. In general, we have successfully overcome all these risks. We have passed through this forest. And we see 2023 better in terms of these risks. The technological risks, the same infrastructural, have not been overcome. We understand what is happening and what kind of difficulties we will have,” said the head of state.
