SERGEY PRIKHODKO: IF NOTHING UNTOWARD HAPPEN, CREDIT FOR SUCH AN OUTCOME WILL LIKEWISE BE GIVEN TO THE MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Executive Director of the Gaidar Institute Sergey Prikhodko offered his comments in an interview with Kommersant FM.

In their discussion held live on Radio Kommersant FM, experts focused on the statement made by head of the Ministry of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin that the problem faced by the Russian economy is the growing debt of the population, which ‘will explode anyway in 2021’. According to the Minister, he and his subordinates are already preparing proposals designed to slow down the growth of consumer debt and to provide a safety net for those people who experience financial troubles.

Why does the head of the Ministry of Economic Development make such statements? Executive Director of the Gaidar Institute Sergey Prikhodko offered the following explanation: ‘Being a smart man, he suspects that the problem will only get worse; being aware that ‘danger foreseen is half avoided’, he

wants those who really matter among his listeners to get used to the idea that it is somebody else – and not he personally – who should bear the blame, because he has been warning about the impending crisis. If, on the other hand, nothing untoward should happen, the credit for such an outcome should likewise be given to the Ministry of Economic Development, because it has offered a safety net to the citizens in a difficult situation.