Putin's government is "based on corruption": Russian opponent Alexiei Navalni said in an interview inviting the Kremlin to improve its shabby relations with the West.
"Putin's regime - said Navalni - is based on corruption According to official data, over 20% of the population live below the poverty line and people understand what is obvious: why are we so poor? so much".
Navalni was not able to run for the presidential elections on March 18th because of his judicial troubles, which many consider to be political.
For tomorrow, he has organized a series of anti-government demonstrations in favor of boycotting the elections. The opponent claims that his supporters will take to the streets in over one hundred cities in Russia.
World Bank’s latest Russia Economic Report:
The Russian economy has returned to modest growth – amidst positive global growth, a recovery in trade, rising oil prices, and growing macroeconomic stability.
The importance of growing macroeconomic stability is highlighted in the report. The Russian authorities continue to adhere to a path of fiscal consolidation and introduced a new fiscal rule, which comes into effect in 2019, that is expected to smoothen the impact of external volatility on the budget and the real exchange rate.
Unemployment rates are at a historical low, but due to low labor mobility, unemployment across regions remains uneven. The lowest level of unemployment was registered in Moscow (1.3% in the third quarter of 2017) and Saint Petersburg (1.7%), while the highest levels were recorded in Ingushetia (27%) and Tuva Republic (18.7%).