Russia Can Join World’s Top 5 Economies, Putin Says

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he believes that the target of joining the world’s top five most developed economies is “absolutely manageable,” Gazeta.ru reports.

“Regarding (plans) to take our rightful place among other industrial powers, that is a challenging task, but overall it is absolutely manageable,” he said at a Wednesday meeting with members of the Russian Council of Legislators, adding that Russia is facing the task of becoming the fifth-largest economy globally in terms of purchasing power parity, and that currently Russia is the sixth after China, the United States, India, Japan, and Germany.

“The difference between (Russia) and the Federal Republic (of Germany) is small, at some point we already took the fifth spot, but for us that is not simply an absolute priority. An absolute priority is different – to change the structure of economy,” he said.

According to Putin, “changes in the economic structure are required to ensure long-term development, that is an absolute priority, to ensure a multifold increase in labor efficiency. The Russian President added that the development of investment projects is particularly relevant amid the current environment connected with external restrictions that the country is facing.”

In February, the Russian government said it plans to spend nearly $400 billion of taxpayers’ money to overhaul Russia’s economy, reduce poverty and repair aging infrastructure. The government issued a report detailing 12 phases of the plan, with a total cost of $391 billion.

When he won re-election last May, Putin detailed his intention to develop Russia into a top-five world economy that’s invested in healthcare, education and infrastructure.