MOSCOW, March 13The defense industry is accelerating the Russian economy, but in this matter it is necessary to maintain a balance and develop the production of civilian products, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with journalist Dmitry Kiselev for Russia 1 and.
“Defense spending accelerates the economy, they make it more energetic, but here, of course, there are limitations, we understand this. This eternal question — what is more profitable than guns or butter — we mean this, although I repeat, even our defense industry is modern «, it is good because it not only indirectly influences civilian industries and production, but also, using innovations needed for defense, it uses these innovations to produce civilian products. This is an extremely important thing,» the president noted.
The head of state said that during the Soviet era, “no one counted” expenses in the defense sector and “did not strive for efficiency.” He recalled that during the Soviet Union, defense spending «amounted to about 13% of the country's GDP,» while this year in Russia it is 6.8%, according to statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Putin added that compared to last year, defense spending increased by 2.8%, but such an increase is not critical.
“We need to get the maximum return for every ruble invested in the defense industry,” the head of state summed up.
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