Mishustin announced the restoration of the economy to pre-crisis levels

The Russian economy is going through a large-scale transformation, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at the Moscow Financial Forum, an RBC correspondent reports.

“The unilateral break with Western partners of previous economic ties has aggravated many issues. But I believe that the most difficult period has passed. <...> By the middle of this year, the economy had almost completely recovered to pre-crisis levels,” Mishustin said.

He noted that the only exception is the oil and gas sector, which needs more time to “restructure commodity flows and find new trading partners.”

Mishustin added that many foreign investors wanted to keep their projects in RUSSIA, but were forced to leave the market due to “the actions of their own authorities.” He expressed hope that "pragmatism will prevail and they will return."

On September 8, Mishustin urged not to make too optimistic economic forecasts. He said that “the risks have not gone away” and, moving through the budget process, “we need to take into account all the previously accumulated imbalances and challenges in the global economy.”

In March 2023, Mishustin said that Western countries dealt Russia “a sanction blow, the strength of which has never been equal in recent history,” and the target of this blow was the Russian people.

After the start of the military operation in Ukraine, Western countries began to introduce or tighten sanctions against Russia in whole packages. Russian companies, banks, air carriers and individuals: officials, parliamentarians, public figures, representatives of the media and culture were subject to numerous restrictions.