Putin Says Gov't Aware Of Decreasing Household Incomes, But Situation Not Catastrophic

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th June, 2021) The Russian government knows that the incomes of the country's population are decreasing, but the situation is not catastrophic, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

"Yes, there are problems, unemployment grew, real incomes dropped, we know that all. But nothing happened so that we could assert ... a catastrophe," Putin said in his speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"Thanks to timely response measures, the Russian economy and the labor market are already approaching pre-crisis levels. We have managed to save millions of jobs and avoid a sharp drop in citizens' incomes," the president added.

SPIEF-2021 is taking place from Wednesday through Saturday in person at the Expoforum Exhibition and Convention Center in St. Petersburg. The Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency is a media partner of the event.