The Russian economy has come to feel the negative impact of the global financial crisis. Take, for example, the plummeting prices for Russian exports and the difficulties with financial market operations. Nevertheless, some of the basic macroeconomic indexes are expected to grow. Industrial production is likely to grow 2 points and the citizens’ take-home wages 7 percent. The director of the Moscow School of Economics and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Nekipelov feels that the crisis can be ignored if one speaks about the first half of the year. But there is no way to play it down now. Something has been done, of course. Today marks a key moment: the first half of the year is different from what we are about to enter. Russia has entered a second stage of the period in which it feels the impact of this crisis. It is mostly the financial sector, the liquidity and banking problems, and the private sector’s western debt, with which it was preoccupied in the first half of the year. Those problems are as good as settled, and the deficit of aggregate demand is what has come to be seen as the biggest problem now. Further dynamics will depend on resolving that problem. As for the general economic indicators of the year, Markov sees them as quite good. He expects the gross domestic product to grow by seven percent.

The government of Russia has mapped out a number of moves in support of the consumer goods sector of the economy. It will be trying to encourage domestic demand. If prices for consumer goods grow, demand for these goods goes down. That is why the price-to-quality balance must be such as to allow Russian-made goods to compete with foreign imports. Due to the planned rises in the salaries and wages of government employees and the retirees’ pensions, the citizens’ take-home earnings are expected to grow 2.5 percent. The taxes on the services of natural resource monopolies make an important budgetary contribution. At the same time, they should not grow too fast. The current scenario for the development of the Russian economy provides for their gradual growth. The plan for anti-crisis action is expected to strengthen what is known as city-forming enterprises – the industrial mainstays of urban areas. There are hundreds of such enterprises, and decisions to encourage domestic demand, offer new loans, and protect the domestic market are meant to help them out.