Some tough words from President Dmitry Medvedev about the state of the Russian economy and the need to make urgent reforms. These comments are likely to be followed by decisive actions and changes more comments.
From AFP:
From AFP:
He told Russian political party leaders in the southern city of Sochi that Russia was "treading water" by not implementing reform and needed to urgently change the structure of its export-dependent economy.
"We cannot develop any longer like this. This is a dead end. And the crisis has put us under such conditions that we will have to take decisions about changing the structure of our economy.
"Otherwise our economy has no future," he said in comments broadcast on Russian television. (...)
"Why? Because we did not change the structure of our economy. Our economy is based on hydrocarbons, natural resources and their sale for export.
"As soon as there is a radical change in the global economy, the budget income changes."
"Because we did not change the structure of our economy. Our economy is based on hydrocarbons, natural resources and their sale for export."
And whose fault is that? Isn't it clearly Vladimir Putin's fault?
Does Medvedev intend to fire Putin and get somebody with a more modern understanding of economics (or maybe just any kind of actual one)?
CAN he do that?
Seems like Mr. Medvedev is dangerously off the reservation with all this truth telling. First he says Russia is nation of criminal miscreants when behind the wheel, and now he says the economy is doomed without radical reform. How much longer will Putin take it? Methinks not long. It's only words, after all, but words alone have got so many Russians shot you can't count them.
I don't know -- it's hard to interpret such comments in Russia. As far as I see, these are just words thrown at the wind, to be later used as "precursors" in case some change actually happened, or to be forgotten if none does.