Vladimir Putin: During the pandemic, the economic downturn in Russia was only 3%

‘Our economy turned out to be more mobilized and ready for such shocks than many of the world's leading economies: the economic downturn was only 3% and we recovered faster than other countries. GDP growth is expected to reach 4.5%. Investments in fixed assets - 6.7% in November, by the end of the year the expected figure is 6%. The average monthly salary in real terms has increased, the growth of real disposable income of 5.1% is expected by the end of the year. The trade balance was 94 billion last year, but by the end of this year it was 184 billion. International reserves have grown from 595 billion to 625.5 billion,’ Vladimir Putin said.

Nevertheless, the president added, one of the negative aspects is the reduction in life expectancy - from 71.5 in 2020 to 70.1 this year.

Speaking about the drivers of growth, Vladimir Putin stressed that one of the main tasks is becoming more acute - this is work in the field of demography, which is important from a humanitarian, geopolitical, and economic point of view. Another driver is infrastructure and its development.

‘500 billion goes from the budget for development, directly, within the framework of national projects, 460 billion is additionally planned for next year. 2.5 trillion from the Welfare Fund will be allocated for this purposes in the coming years, the president commented.

Another driver is the growth of labor productivity: there are resources for this, it is only important to implement this work competently, the president added.

The budget remains socially oriented, 3.6 trillion was planned to be allocated for healthcare from the federal budget and the CHI system, but this year this figure has reached 3.9-4.

‘For next year we planned 4, but we understand that the costs will be higher,’ the president noted. ‘We all aimed at preserving jobs, at those groups of people who are in the most vulnerable position: we expanded the number of families receiving state support, started paying maternal capital for the first child and benefits to pregnant women who are in a difficult situation, made lump-sum payments. 4.5 trillion rubles were was spent on this in 2020, this year these measures were retained.