Russia's economy grew four percent year on year in the first quarter of 2012, Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina said on Monday.
"Gross domestic product grew ... four percent in the first quarter of this year, including a 3.2 percent increase in March," Nabiullina told the enlarged board of the Economic Development Ministry.
The country's economic growth in the first three months of last year was 4.1 percent.
The ministry cut its 2012 GDP forecast to 3.4 percent from 3.7 percent earlier this month, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Russia's economic growth this year at four percent.
In 2011 Russia’s gross domestic product grew by 4.2 percent, the world’s third highest growth rate among leading economies.
