icon bookmark-bicon bookmarkicon cameraicon checkicon chevron downicon chevron lefticon chevron righticon chevron upicon closeicon v-compressicon downloadicon editicon v-expandicon fbicon fileicon filtericon flag ruicon full chevron downicon full chevron lefticon full chevron righticon full chevron upicon gpicon insicon mailicon moveicon-musicicon mutedicon nomutedicon okicon v-pauseicon v-playicon searchicon shareicon sign inicon sign upicon stepbackicon stepforicon swipe downicon tagicon tagsicon tgicon trashicon twicon vkicon yticon wticon fm
25 May, 2018 11:42

Russian government 'like a tiger ready to leap forward’ – Audit Chamber chief

Russian government 'like a tiger ready to leap forward’ – Audit Chamber chief

Russia's newly-appointed Cabinet is capable of producing “advanced, groundbreaking reforms” with the government looking like “a tiger ready to make a leap forward,” head of the Russian Audit Chamber, Alexei Kudrin, said Friday.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Kudrin encouraged officials to take a more decisive role in implementing the Russian President’s ambitious economic program, revealed by Vladimir Putin on May 7, just hours after his official swearing-in ceremony. Among the goals is raising the average life expectancy and living standards.

While expressing optimism about the government’s future performance, the chief of the Russia’s finance watchdog noted that the Cabinet so far proved not to be active and daring enough in tackling its objectives.

In the 2000s, it was the government that pushed the president, and he was saying, ‘Slow down, let’s be more careful’. And today the President is setting the bar high, while the government is overthinking,” he told an audience during one of the forum’s events. One of the steps could be raising of the retirement age, which, according to Kudrin, is inevitable and will be a bold move.

Kudrin is one of Russia’s leading economists. Prior to being appointed to lead the Audit Chamber, he advised Putin on economic affairs, and before that he was Finance Minister for more than 10 years.

Podcasts
0:00
23:13
0:00
25:0