MOSCOW, April 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will spend 3
trillion rubles ($90 billion) on measures to fight the economic
crisis, including 1.4 trillion rubles ($42 billion) from the
federal budget, the prime minister said on Monday.
"Anti-crisis measures stipulate 1.4 trillion rubles in funds.
On the whole, taking into account the effects of tax cuts,
Central Bank funds, the National Welfare Fund and other sources
to fight the consequences of the crisis and help the economy
rebound, a total of 3 trillion rubles has been allocated,"
Vladimir Putin said in his first annual report to the lower
house of parliament, required under a change to the
constitution adopted this year.
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin earlier assessed the
government's anti-crisis spending at 3.7 trillion rubles
($110.75 billion), including 1.6 trillion rubles ($47.9
billion) in budget funds.
Putin said federal budget spending on the national economy
would grow 70% this year to a record 1.7 trillion rubles ($52
billion) against last year's 1 trillion rubles ($29.9 billion).
The premier also pledged large-scale government financial
assistance to key defense companies, apart from the MiG
aircraft building corporation, which has already received 15
billion rubles ($449 million), and the Khrunichev research and
production space center, which has been given 8 billion rubles
($239.5 million).
"To protect the most important industries the government
is ready to directly buy into companies' capital," Putin said
in his landmark address to the State Duma.
He said a total of 70 billion rubles ($2 billion), or 170
billion rubles ($5 billion), taking into account loan
guarantees, would be channeled into the defense sector this
year.
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