It won’t be easier in the fall, the former finance minister warned

The Russian economy is now “in a full-fledged crisis,” said former Finance Minister and head of the Committee of Civil Initiatives Alexei Kudrin at a Sberbank business breakfast at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

“Growth may resume by the end of the year, but statistically we will have a fall in GDP this year - this is a crisis,” TASS quotes Kudrin .

The former head of the Ministry of Finance noted that many enterprises have introduced part-time work and laid off employees, expecting the situation to improve by the fall. “Another unpleasant circumstance that did not exist even during the crisis of 2008-2009. Real wages have already fallen by 10%, real incomes of the population - by 4-5%. There will be more by the end of the year. This is a significant reduction in living standards,” said Kudrin.

At the same time, he warned that in the fall, apparently, “it will not be easier than at the moment.”

On Thursday at the forum, Alexei Kudrin said that in terms of growth, Russia is now “in the middle of the storm.” The results for the first quarter were better than expected, he admitted. “It seemed to many, and words were said, that we had passed the peak or were already at the end of the crisis. The second quarter will show that this is not the case,” he warned.

Kudrin announced a full-fledged crisis in Russia