Year 2012 showed that Russia has learned to deal with problems – Shuvalov

Igor Shuvalov file photo

(Interfax – January 16, 2013)

Year 2012 was calm politically and good economically, despite the difficult State Duma and presidential elections, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said in an interview published in the Wednesday edition of Kommersant.

“To me, as a government official, our condition at the end of 2012 is an additional confirmation that the country has learned to deal with problems at a certain level,” Shuvalov said.

“Even the difficult political processes such as the State Duma elections and the presidential elections did not prevent this year from ending calmly and well in terms of economics, even with moderate, controlled inflation,” he said.

“Despite the displeasure of certain groups,” the elections “had no negative impact on the economy and did not lead to an outbreak of populism or instability, which is normal in such a situation,” Shuvalov said.

There are currently no emergencies or budget crises in Russia, which is experiencing economic growth, Shuvalov said.

“We will get final information on this year in late January. The growth is tentatively projected at some 3.5 percent of GDP. It’s not bad at all,” he said.

In the meantime, Shuvalov said he believes there is a need to keep high reserves and excellent macroeconomic indicators, while achieving serious improvements of the quality of life in this political cycle.

“We can achieve excellent macroeconomic parameters by 2018. Investors will slowly increase their activities as the situation becomes more stable. Of course, that will happen, but the result will only be evaluated by the next generation,” Shuvalov said.

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