“Tinking” and “gas station”: Putin’s statements at the “Russia Calling!” forum

Vladimir Putin took part in the plenary session of the VTB forum “Russia Calling!” He announced a forecast for GDP growth of 3.5% and assessed the departure of Western companies. Putin’s main statements are in the RBC material Vladimir Putin How much will Russia’s GDP grow “In ten months of this year, Russia’s GDP grew by 3.2%. Today it is already higher than before the Western sanctions attack. It is expected that by the end of this year, at least we very much count on it, GDP will increase by at least 3.5%.” “Internal sources of lending to Russian companies have replaced external ones. I can’t say that everything has been completely resolved, because Western lending is cheaper, the volumes there are different, but in general there is no problem here today.” “I constantly communicate with representatives of large and medium-sized companies, and with representatives of the financial sector: everyone is always unhappy with each other. It's always, and I think it's everywhere. But the numbers show that decisions are being made, life is moving on, the economy is developing.”

Why RUSSIA is not a “gas station” “In the structure of Russia’s economic growth, an increasingly large share is occupied by the so-called basic non-resource industries. These are manufacturing industries, transport, logistics, construction, information, communications, housing and communal services. For example, in the second quarter of this year they accounted for more than half, 54%, of economic growth. Another 44% are supporting industries: trade, catering , and other professional services. Only 2% came from mining. Now let someone say that Russia is a gas station, as they tried to say quite recently.”

What Putin said about Western elites “We want to create a different model, a truly democratic one; such a change in the landscape of the world economy is in many ways an objective and natural process. It has always been like this. Someone develops, then dies down, new leaders appear.” “The elites of Western countries are trying to artificially restrain the growth of, as they believe, the global periphery, which they are used to exploiting, using as a resource, as a source of rent, simply as colonies <...> They have reached the point of abolishing the very principles of a market economy, which they so love to talk about. <...> When this system, the so-called globalization, was taking shape, then they said: everyone should be on equal terms, borders should be open, borders should not be closed under any circumstances. But as soon as competitors appeared, bang, and they began to close their own borders right there, in one second, with a click.” “Despite any external pressure, clenching teeth, knocking on the table, whispering in the ear, there are people, leaders of countries, powerful countries at that, who do not succumb to this pressure and are guided primarily by their own national interests.” Read PIONERPRODUKT .by $800 instead of billions: who was in a big hurry by selling a stake in APPLE and GOOGLE Which leaders do businesses need in 2024, and which ones will be left out of the game “Go down to the auditorium”: how to make a story about yourself memorable What fines will an employer face if do not report on military registration About Western jurisdictions as a “safe haven” “Western jurisdictions, which were “safe havens”, have ceased to be so. Now the principle of “friend or foe” operates there. A stranger can be robbed, left beggars, and his assets, companies, enterprises can be blocked, taken away and even liquidated as a result of sabotage, as was the case with Nord Streams.

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“Citizens’ savings should serve as an important source of investment resources. This is how it is done in many economies around the world. Work for the economy, for development and bring additional income to the people themselves. For those who are ready to invest for a long time and earn money within the country, we are already creating attractive conditions, but investments in foreign securities have shown what it is worth. The insecurity was so obvious. It’s just that money was stolen from people , from individuals, it’s just a disgrace.”

Previously, foreign securities owned by Russian investors were blocked due to sanctions against the National Settlement Depository (NSD) and the St. Petersburg Exchange.

On insurance of individual investment accounts (IIA) “The insurance mechanism needs to be extended to long-term individual investment accounts. Here the maximum amount of insurance coverage can be 1.4 million rubles. per person. That is, the same amount as when insuring bank deposits.”

About the departure of Western companies Russian business has shown itself responsibly and is occupying vacated niches and acting confidently. “Did they think everything would collapse, or what? They took over everything and moved forward.” “Despite all the pressure from the political elites of the West, the number of foreign structures and business structures operating in Russia has not decreased. You can imagine, I was surprised to find out when I looked at the materials. Increased". According to the president, in March 2022 there were 24.1 thousand foreign companies in Russia, and in November 2023 - 25.6 thousand. “Russia is not closing itself off from anyone. Some companies, despite the pressure, want to continue to operate. Either the name was changed or handed over to management.”