Former Russian finance minister Aleksei Kudrin says the Russian economy will grow only if the government initiates serious reforms, Radio Free Europe reported. Kudrin, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Presidential Economic Council, said the country’s economy will remain at “the bottom” without real structural reforms. “We can say that ‘the bottom’ (for the Russian economy) has already passed,” he said, but added that the improvement in the economy—which has been rocked by low oil prices, western-led sanctions, and a weak currency—has thus far been minimal. The Russian government needs to take some “decisive” action regarding the economy, he said.
