Moscow - President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, May 8 that Russia "fell deeper than many countries" during the latest financial crisis because of its "one-side economy," which "has taken 70 years to evolve."
"Yes it was a deep crisis, and we fell deeper than many countries, that’s absolutely true. And why was that? Because we have a one-sided economy. And was it yesterday that it got this character? It has taken 70 years to evolve," Putin said at a State Duma session that approved ex-president Dmitry Medvedev’s nomination as prime minister.
Putin’s words drew objections from lawmakers. "Yes, my friends, let’s not debate that. The point is that nobody wanted what we were producing – don’t wave your hands. Because nobody was buying our galoshes except for Africans, who had hot sand to walk on," the president said.
"We are grateful to our grandfathers and our fathers for creating such a defense industry after the Great Patriotic War. The first satellite and the first man in space are sources of our common pride, and they are the achievements of the Soviet system that we are proud of," Putin said.
However, there were shortages of consumer goods in the Soviet era.
"Let’s not lie to one another or to ordinary people. Ordinary people know what was and what was not available. And that’s why we fell deeper, but as we took action that was single-minded enough and effective enough, we recovered earlier than others, nor do we have situations such as those in countries with developed market economies," he said.
