Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the less Russia relies on energy revenues, the better, as this allows for the development of other sectors of the economy at a faster and better pace. In a special talk with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, Putin said, "When European countries imported Russian gas, Russia earned greater profits. However, on the other hand, the less we depend on energy revenues, the better it is. Because the non-energy part of our economy is growing at a significant rate and faster than before. This is always the case; when you receive money effortlessly, you become addicted to it, but when you have to think, you innovate other mechanisms that bring you money."
During a recent meeting with the government, President Putin announced that the Russian economy recorded growth last year higher than the global average, noting that the country's GDP grew by 3.6 percent in 2023. The International Monetary Fund acknowledged that the Russian economy is showing better growth rates than expected, despite sanctions related to the Ukrainian crisis. The IMF significantly improved its growth forecast for the Russian economy for 2024 to 2.6 percent.
