Upward trend in Russian economy continues – Putin

Economists like former finance minister Aleksey Kudrin have warned that the Russian economy could grow faster only if the Kremlin implements structural reforms.

Inflation in Russia remains at its lowest level since the collapse of the Soviet Union, falling to 2.5 percent last year. Rapid growth in consumer prices has long been considered one of the biggest woes of the Russian economy.

Given the low inflation, the central bank plans to gradually cut the key rate to 6-7 percent per annum from the current 7.75 percent.

The historical minimum of the key rate in Russia was in 2013 at 5.5 per year. The all-time high is 210 percent in 1993.

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