ACCOUNTS CHAMBER BULLETIN PUBLISHED COMMENT BY ALEXEY VEDEV

Alexey Vedev, Doctor of economic sciences, Head of Financial Studies Department at the Gaidar Institute, commented on the main conclusions of the Accounts Chamber report dedicated to the National Wellbeing Fund (NWF).

"The Russian economy faced two unprecedented crises in 2020-2022: the coronavirus pandemic and sanctions pressure. The first presents a new type of crisis, simultaneously affecting both supply and demand and cancelling the usual logistical patterns. The support of small and medium-sized businesses through the budget and various funds became a fundamental issue for all countries of the world. In Russia, the NWF was not practically involved; its volume increased 1.7-fold, or by Rb5.8 trillion in 2020-2021. In fact, the NWF was not used as an anti-crisis instrument, rather as a planned accumulator of reserves. I should like to note that the Russian economy, which is based on large and medium-sized enterprises (80%, as opposed to less than 50% for the US) experienced a GDP decline of 3% in 2020 and a recovery growth of 4.7% in 2021," commented Alexey Vedev.

The expert noted that the 2022 crisis caused by sanctions pressure from developed economies has and will have a more negative impact on the Russian economy. Russia's new economic reality raises the necessity to reconsider approaches to generate and use NWF funds, as well as to mitigate financial policies to maximize support and incentives for Russian producers.

Full text of the comment by Alexey Vedev (in Russian only)

Accounts Chamber Bulletin No. 7(296) 2022 (in Russian only)