Mashable quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Resident Senior Fellow Anders Aslund on how Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to frame his dicussion of Russia’s economic situation in his upcoming state of the nation address:
Speaking to Mashable, Anders Aslund, an expert in Russian economic policy and a senior fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council, predicted that Putin will argue that “debt is low and imports are falling while exports are increasing.”
On that note, expect him to touch on a theme he’s emphasized in previous speeches — that domestic producers have upped their game to make up for products the country cannot import from the West because of the sanctions. If he does hit the ‘lemons from lemonade’ note, listen for him to list several ways in which the government has helped grow Russian companies. With any luck, he’ll mention Farmer John.
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Putin’s promise to Russia ever since he came to power 15 years ago has been to restore the country’s greatness. That message has resonated well with Russians, who yearn to see their country’s status returned to that of “superpower.”
Aslund says it’s safe to bet Putin will say something about how great a nation Russia has become with him at the helm.