The past 2020 was the worst year for the world economy since the Second World War. This was announced at a meeting on measures to increase investment activity by Russian President Vladimir Putin, RIA Novosti reports.
According to him, global GDP fell by 3.5 percent due to objective reasons. First of all, these are epidemiological restrictions introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic. They hit both business and economic dynamics.
Putin pointed out that Russia for the first time in modern history went through the crisis without tightening macroeconomic and monetary policy. This situation, in his opinion, indicates a decrease in dependence on the global environment.
Also, the head of state is confident that the main problems have been overcome. This is evidenced by the dynamics of domestic demand and the decline in the unemployment rate. Putin stressed that measures to support business and economic sectors worked.
Earlier, the UN provided more negative data on world GDP. According to the organization’s estimates, the fall was 4.3 percent. Of these, in developed countries the decline averaged 5.6 percent (this result is associated with a higher share of services, which is rapidly recovering), in the US – 3.5 percent, and in Russia – 3.1 percent.
In December last year, Putin attributed the sharp rise in prices for basic foodstuffs to the global conjuncture. In his opinion, suppliers and manufacturers tried to raise the cost of goods to the level of the world in order to get additional profit. To combat rising prices, the government decided to temporarily determine their level in a directive manner
Later, the press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov pointed out that the failures in the fight against poverty are explained by various external factors, and the reason for low pensions is the regular world crises.