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The Russian Economy at the Turning Point
The decline in the growth of the GDP that became apparent in mid- 2012 continued in 2013, with the growth rate amounting to only 1.3 per cent. The results of the first quarter of 2014 were even worse: 0.9 per cent. This seems to be a persistent trend stemming from a number of factors that emerged after the 2003-2007 phase of high growth rates (7-7.3 per cent), the 2008-2009 crisis, and the post-crisis recovery of 2010-2011. Significantly enough, economic growth was slower in Russia in 2013 than in the global economy. This puts in doubt the attainment of the target indicators of the Conception for the Long-Term Socioeconomic Development of the Russian Federation (2008). Either these targets cannot be attained at all and therefore must be abandoned. Or they cannot be attained in the existing conditions, including current economic policies, and so one must change policies in all spheres and not just in the economy. In the present article, we analyze the reasons for the falling growth rate and propose measures for successful economic development.