Belousov said that in 2023 the Russian economy will be easier

2023 will be much easier for the Russian economy than 2022, “if nothing happens.” This statement was made by the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Andrey Belousov in an interview with the Russia 24 TV channel.

“We believe that 2023, if nothing happens, will naturally be much easier than 2022. We do not see any fatal problems there,” he said.

Belousov also noted that next year one should not expect GDP growth of 3%. According to him, in 2023 the decline of the Russian economy will be “near zero”, despite the official forecast of just under 1%.

In October, the Bank of Russia improved its GDP forecast for 2022. The regulator expects GDP to decline by 3.0-3.5% by the end of the year. In 2023, the decline could range from 1 to 4%. At the same time, in 2024-2025. growth of the Russian economy is projected at the level of 1.5-2.5% annually.

At the same time, the Ministry of Economic Development expects a 2.9% decline in GDP in 2022, and 0.8% in 2023. In 2024-2025 the ministry predicts GDP growth of 2.6% per year.

On December 22, during a press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin declaredthat Russia passed 2022 “quite confidently”. He added that at the moment there are no concerns that the current situation will interfere with the implementation of plans for the future, including for 2023.

At a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects on December 15, Putin declaredthat the Russian ruble has become one of the strongest currencies in the world. He also improved the forecast for GDP for 2022, noting that the decline in the Russian economy is expected at the level of 2.5%, although back in the spring the Russian economy was predicted to have a “collapse of 20%”.