Putin outlines key Russian economic priorities

We cannot feel satisfied with our current economic growth", Russian President Vladimir Putin announced today. "Our main objective is to improve the living standards and make sure our economy is really strong so that it no longer depends on foreign economic factors, parliamentary or presidential elections", Putin specified.

Our economic recovery rates are great but still insufficient, state governance is inefficient, the structure of the economy is unbalanced, and our social policies have no clear-cut target. "The Russian economy still focuses on producing raw materials, whereas our pivotal advantage is a high intellectual potential", the president noted. He pointed out little progress in the development of the Russian market of services, and in particular the monopolist position of the state in the housing and communal sector as well as the excessive state regulation of the economy which has a bad impact on the quality of our economic growth.