During his speech, on Thursday, Putin said: “The growth of our economy is largely due to the strengthening of sovereignty. This fact has a special importance for our country because the disappearance of sovereignty means the loss of the state and the strengthening of sovereignty is the result of economic growth.”

After numerous foreign companies left the local market, Russian companies began to manufacture those same products, which implied the need for additional research and which involved more institutions, including development institutions. “All of this contributes to strengthening technological sovereignty,” Putin added. For the Russian president, sovereignty “is very important, something that one must carry inside, in the heart.”

The head of state also reported that the general economic situation is stable and reliable, and this year, Russia’s Gross Domestic Product growth “will amount to 3.9 percent, or even four percent.” He predicted that in 2025, “according to various estimates, we will have a growth of between two and 2.5 percent.”

“There are other indicators that are, to put it mildly, satisfactory. Well, first of all, one of these important indicators for all countries in the world, for all economies, is the unemployment rate, which is at a low level of 2.3 percent. This has never happened before,” the Russian leader expressed.

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