Russian economy restored to two-thirds of pre-crisis level: Vladimir Putin

MOSCOW: The Russian economy has been restored to two-thirds of its pre-crisis level, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in a documentary aired early this morning.

"We've restored our economy to two-thirds of the pre-crisis level, with the exchange rate of the ruble getting stabilised and foreign exchange/gold reserves growing," Putin said in the 'Crisis 2008: Russia to be Rescued' documentary, aired on the Rossiya One television channel.

"On the whole, we've spent 3 trillion rubles/USD 1=RUB 31.6 at the current exchange rate/ for anti-crisis measures," he said.

"That's really a huge sum but it did pay back and did so with a profit. What really mattered was a number of things of a fundamental nature" and they occurred in the economy over the past few years, he said.

Putin also mentioned preparations for a possible second wave of the economic crisis, although "this one may never come in reality."

"We're considering draft laws and government resolutions just in case" that will be kept on the shelf until the moment a need to enact them arises.

However, he said, "Russia is a country the stability of which isn't called into question."