President Putin Urges All Levels Of Power To Support Small Business

Russian president Vladimir Putin has called upon all levels of power to actively support small business in Russia. Opening a Kremlin session of the State Council on Tuesday, the head of state said that both municipal, regional and federal authorities should look at the small business problem from a different angle, otherwise the country will see no economic growth or high living standards. According to the president, the solution to the problems facing small business can in the long run be used as an effective instrument of tackling social issues at the federal level. Putin noted that small business today involved up to one third of Russia's population. He added that over 50 percent of small enterprises are concentrated in only eight federation members, whereas a quarter of them are Moscow-based. The president described such a situation as not really positive. If this situation persists, the development potential of new business will be then exhausted, the head of state noted. He also remarked that if all levels of power do not support small business, it will fail to acquire any status thereby preventing the formation of the middle class in Russia. The more people small business engages, the more stable national economy is, said the president.