The economic consequences of Covid-19 are becoming clearer, and they aren't good. The number of Russians in poverty is projected to grow by about a million by the end of 2020, with the overall economy due to fall as much as 4.5%.
That's according to the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber and former Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin, who revealed on Saturday the current projections for the state of the country's finances.
“Poverty will increase by about a million people,” he told the All-Russian Civil Forum on Saturday. “Unfortunately, we won't bounce back as much in the coming years. This means that we need to focus on those people who need support.”
Kudrin also noted that the standard of living has significantly decreased over the past five years, and Covid-19 will accelerate this further.
Also on rt.com Hot on the heels of Sputnik V, Russia’s 2nd Covid-19 vaccine ‘EpiVacCorona’ set for release in December, say developersThe former finance minister also predicted an economic downturn of up to 4.5 percent this year. According to the economist, this is a bad drop, but significantly better than the European average (8-9%), explicitly referring to the poor performance of the United Kingdom (11%).
“A crisis like this, when the entire global economy is falling by about four percent and even the Chinese economy is growing less than usual, means a new reality for the whole world.”
Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) complimented Russia on weathering the worst of the crisis, but advised Russia to “extend support for its people and firms until the recovery is properly entrenched.”
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