Russians' Real Incomes Gradually Returning To Growth After Years-Long Fall - Putin

Russian citizens' real incomes have been declining over the past few years, but have recently started gradually returning to the path of growth, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual "Direct Line" Q&A session on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2019) Russian citizens' real incomes have been declining over the past few years, but have recently started gradually returning to the path of growth, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual "Direct Line" Q&A session on Thursday.

The Q&A session started with economic and social issues.

Putin recalled that the Russian economy had faced a number of "external shocks" over past years, not only sanctions but also the adverse situation on the global market for the country's traditional export products such as oil, metals and chemical products,

"Indeed, real incomes of Russian citizens have been decreasing over past years. The biggest slump was in 2016, I guess. Now, the [level of] incomes has started gradually restoring," Putin said.

He added that increase in incomes of pensioners was among the Russian authorities' priorities.