Main risks for Russia are internal, not external – Medvedev

MOSCOW. Jan 31 (Interfax) – The main risks that Russia faces are not external, but internal, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at an expanded government session on Thursday.

“And all the main risks are not external, but internal. I’m referring to the forecast reductions in the working-age population, the low quality of state management, the far-from-ideal investment climate, the slowdown in growth rates of domestic consumption,” Medvedev said.

“Obviously, the factors that guaranteed economic growth in the last ten years aren’t working, and the potential for development within the traditional export-oriented model has practically been exhausted,” Medvedev said.

“But I believe perhaps the most important challenge is that people in Russia are no longer satisfied with the current quality of medical aid, education and social services,” he said.