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               Russia's Prime Minister Warns of 'Deep Recession'

   by VOA News

   Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says the country would plunge
   into a "deep recession'' if the government abandoned its spending
   plans.

   Speaking Tuesday in Moscow before leading officials of the ruling
   United Russia party, Dmitry Medvedev said the government will stay
   focused on its strategic aims and social spending to avoid the
   likelihood of sliding into recession.

   Medvedev blamed foreign sanctions, saying the country is worse off than
   during the 2008 crisis, because "a number of countries are in effect
   hampering our economy."

   Russia's economy has been greatly affected by the oil price-drop and is
   widely predicted to fall into recession next year.

   A warning sign has been the sharp drop of the Russian ruble, which is
   the worst performing currency this year, along with the Ukrainian
   hryvnia.

   To counter the downward trend, Russia's Central Bank has raised the
   interest rate to 17 percent, which might slow the ruble's decline but
   is likely to hurt Russian businesses and individual households.

   In an attempt to shore up the ruble, the Russian government published
   an order on its website Tuesday, instructing gas giant Gazprom, oil
   companies Rosneft and Zarubezhneft, and diamond producers Alrosa and
   Kristall to reduce their foreign currency assets to October levels and
   to not raise them until March.

   Two of these companies are 100 percent state-owned, others are
   state-controlled.

   The United States and the European Union have imposed a series of
   sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine and Moscow's annexation
   of Crimea last March.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-prime-minister-warns-of-deep-r
   ecession/2570824.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-prime-minister-warns-of-deep-recession/2570824.html