President Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday that the world economic crisis had “substantially” impacted his plans for Russia, including an ambitious idea to turn Moscow into a global financial centre.
“This crisis changed our plans very substantially, but I would especially like to stress that despite all these hardships we must keep moving forward,” Medvedev said in a video address posted on the Kremlin website.
“It would be stupid to say that nothing is happening,” Medvedev said in the address, meant to mark the first anniversary of his election victory.
“It is clear, for example, that one of these major ambitious tasks, forming a global financial centre in Moscow, which I spoke of last year… today is not task number one, though this does not mean we must give it up,” he said.
Last year Medvedev said repeatedly that he wanted to Moscow into a global financial centre, at a time when the Russian economy was still booming thanks to high prices for oil and other commodities.
Since then Russia has seen a drastic slide in its stock markets, billions of dollars worth of capital flight and a gradual devaluation of the ruble amid the global economic crisis and a plunge in the price of oil.
Medvedev was elected president in March 2008 to succeed Vladimir Putin, who later became prime minister but who is widely seen by most analysts as still holding the reins of power.
The presidential vote was March 2, 2008 but the video was posted March 7, one year since Russian elections officials announced the results, formally confirming Medvedev”s victory, which had never been in much doubt.
