Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam and China have made the greatest economic gains globally in the decade that's drawn to a close. The conclusion has been drawn by analysts of the US leading investment bank Goldman Sachs in a report that's appeared in the media. In keeping with the report, Russia has ensured the biggest GDP increase of 4.8 times. Indonesia's GDP has increased 3.5 times over the period, while Vietnam's Gross Domestic Product ahs grown threefold.
The indicators are quite impressive, especially in point of fact that Russia started almost from scratch 10 years ago. This country was living through major political and economic perturbations in the late 1990s. The perturbations had eventually caused the Russian economy to default in 1998, putting it on the brink of paralysis. Russia's new leaders and society in general had to make Herculean efforts to reverse the situation. Also, the world economic situation proved largely helpful, with the growing demand and prices for oil and gas (and Russia is known to be a major oil and gas exporter) ensuring a quick growth and development of the nation. Simultaneously, Russia's influence had grown on world economic processes, says a member of the State Duma Financial Market Committee Anatoly Aksakov.
Russia, Anatoly Aksakov says, was first included in the G-8 and then in the G-20. The situation in Russia is often determined by the world financial and economic market situation. That is why I share the assessment of the Goldman Sachs experts. But then, Russia's role has so far been determined by this country's energy resources. I would certainly like Russia to affect world processes by its added-value producing industries.
The word crisis has negatively affected the Russian economy, just as it has affected most world economies. Russia's GDP shrank by about 10% in the first six months of last year. The situation is now changing for the better. Quite a few expectations are pinned on Russia's economic performance in 2010. There are grounds to believe that Russia will be able to bottom out powerfully, which will prompt economic growth resumption and will finally bring about a restructuring of the Russian economy. President Dmitry Medvedev has proclaimed a policy of modernization, one that implies a priority to the more promising branches of industry. One of the paths to be followed is the development of nanotechnology. Two years ago Russia set up a state corporation that has since been accumulating ideas to that end. The same is true of medical instrument-making. Russia is also expected to make breakthroughs in the areas where this country has traditionally been in the lead, namely the civil nuclear industry and space exploration.
