Putin Pushes For Economic Agenda
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered the brain trust drafting a plan to attack Russia's complex economic problems to work faster and have the program ready before his inauguration.
Apparently frustrated, the newly electe dpresident has instructed the experts to finish designing a program by the end of April, said First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. Putin's inauguration is expected in May.
But the head of the think-tank drafting Putin's program, German Gref, said it might not be completed until late May.
"The stand of Putin is rather radical and we have to think about ways to solve the tasks we are facing," Gref said, according to the Interfax news agency. It was unclear whether his comments came before or after Putin gave his instructions.
Since rising to the presidency after Boris Yeltsin's Dec. 31 resignation, Putin has remained vague on what he plans to do to address his nation's profound economic problems, which range from inefficient and outdated industries to skittish investors. The lack of a program did not hamper his winning election to a full four-year term last Sunday, but it has made potential lenders hesitant.
On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund's representative for Russia, Martin Gilman, said the fund hoped for quick movement toward strong structural reforms, Interfax reported. The IMF last year froze a $2.6 billion loan program to Russia. Russia already owes the fund $8 billion this year in payments on other loans.
Russia's economy recorded modest growth last year after a decade of decline, but experts say the growth had little to do with structural improvements. Production rose to provide substitutes for imported goods that had become too expensive for most consumers after the 1998 financial crisis, analysts said.
Russia also benefited from unusually high world prices for oil, the country's main export. The recent decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase production is likely to lower world oil prices, although it is not clear how much that would affect Russia's revenues.