MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Alexei Kudrin, the former finance minister and the chairman of the Center for Strategic Research (CSR) board, has been repeatedly calling for the reduction of the public sector of the Russian economy during the next decade, particularly in the sphere of the natural resources.
"This is his [Kudrin’s] well-known expert opinion, which he advocates argumentatively, but there are some opposite points of view and as I know, the government currently does not have such plans," Peskov told reporters.
Russia has been carrying out various reforms over 2015 and 2016 as the country, pummeled by Western sanctions and falling oil prices, dipped into recession from which it is just starting to emerge. The government undertook an import substitution program, started developing its financial system and developing a national electronic payment system, maintaining a tight monetary policy and improving domestic credit availability.
